Feudal Tale
by Akihanah
Summary: Kagome, the third daughter of a peasant family of five girls, learns that to help pay her her family's debt she will be married to Inuyasha, the reclusive village craftsman. While neither is particularly pleased about the arrangement, their relationship s
1. Chapter 1

The soft patter of water filling a bucket filled Kagome's ears. She sat patiently by a stream, letting the small waterfall fill the vessel for her. When the weight became close to too much for her, she pulled it out and balanced it out on her hip. She walked sedately up the worn path to the village, and to her home. She had no desire to spill the water she had gone to such lengths to collect, and was also in no hurry to return home.

Her eldest sister, Kikyo, had been enamored with a young orphan in the village. It was rumored that his father was killed in an uprising against the shogunate right after he was born, and his mother died of cholera soon after. Kagome's father, ever hungry for sons, saw an opportunity in his daughter's interest in the young man. When her father had proposed the arrangement to the man, he was unable to refuse such a generous offer. They had been married soon after, and received their own room in the family house.

Kagome tripped slightly on a root and was forced away from her musings. She focused more on balancing the water. When it was stabilized, she found herself returning to her worries.

Akamaru was a nice enough young man, and normally she would be very happy for her sister and for him. But the long, penetrating glances she felt upon her person made her increasingly nervous.

At first it had seemed innocent enough. Maybe Akamaru was simply unused to being around an extended family. But one night she felt a touch across her lower back as she was bent over scrubbing the dishes. She stiffened and looked up, and he was the only one around. His stares became more pressing and she was nervous about being near him alone.

Kagome turned her gaze down and sighed forlornly. She wondered why no one seemed to notice her sister's husband distracted glances. It seemed very obvious to her.

"Kagome-chan!" She glanced up sharply and her gaze focused on her mother.

"Your father has something to discuss with you. Hurry! Here, give me that." She took the bucket of water and gave Kagome a gentle push towards the house.

Surprise melted into anxiety. It was no secret that her father had not been doing well in the past few harvests, and his mood had adjusted accordingly. He was also displeased with his lack of sons, and took out that rage on his daughters. Kagome did her best to shield the younger ones from his anger, but it made her no less nervous about his calling her into an audience. It was also no secret that several girls had vanished behind the walls of the red light district in Edo. It was rumored that no one ever emerged unscathed, if they emerged at all.

Kagome took a deep breath to steady herself before entering the house. She slid open the door and immediately noticed her father sitting alone in the main chamber. She hurriedly slid off her shoes and stepped up onto the raised wooden floor.

"Otou-san? You called for me?"

"Yes, Kagome. Come, sit. I have wonderful news."

Her nervousness increased. Her father was rarely in a good mood, and he was often scarier when he was trying to be pleasant.

She obediently knelt across from him, and bowed slightly in deference. He acknowledged it and smiled widely. Kagome fought increasing nerves.

"I have recently received an excellent offer for you." He revealed, his face shining with pride. Kagome blanched. _Offer?_

"Keiji-sama recently proposed to Inuyasha that he take a wife to fulfill his loneliness. He also recommended you for a bride. Inuyasha offered an astoundingly high bride price for you. It is more than I could have dreamt of for my third daughter. It will seem as though the past few years of failures never happened." He was very excited about this prospect. His gaze finally returned to her.

"So, Kagome, aren't you proud of what your life will accomplish for our family? Because of you your sisters will eat well."

Kagome's lip trembled.

"I am to be married, otou-san?" she queried softly.

His smile did not dim. "As soon as possible. What a happy day, eh?"

Kagome tried to smile. She had, after all, felt the hunger as much as her sisters. But somehow what it cost her made the bright prospect dimmer.

"I am proud to be able to serve my family." She intoned softly.

Her father brightened. "Good, for tonight Inuyasha comes to dine with us so he can officially approve of the match. There is still a chance that he might want one of your sisters instead. So you must do your best to impress him, eh?" He scrutinized her appearance. He scowled. "Find your mother. Have her bring out a formal kimono. You can't look like some rice farmer's brat when he comes."

Kagome felt numb.

Inuyasha. To tell the truth, she knew very little about him. He had been a little older than she, enought that as children they never had contact. That, and her father had ordered his daughters to stay away from the craftsmen. In the village a strict hierarchy was established. The headman sat at the top, and the farmers formed the next level and the bulk of the population. As such, they generally looked down upon the two levels below, the merchants who came through from Edo periodically, and the two families of craftsmen, one of which was represented only by Inuyasha. As such, it was not deemed appropriate for her to be seen with Inuyasha or his like. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the hard-pressed nature of their finances, she doubted her father would consider such a match, even for a third daughter.

Personally, he had always been a little bit of an enigma. His mother had died when he was young, and his father had passed away only a few years ago. He was not so bad looking, from what she had seen. He was not fat or small. He was taller than she, with a lean, strong body. His violet eyes were unique, and they shone out from a clear face surrounded by thick, long midnight hair. He didn't cut it in the traditional shaven head and topknot style used by most men. He left it full and thick atop his head, which she found more attractive on him.

She had always known that she was not going to receive a perfect marriage. Proud as her father was, he was not of high enough status that all his daughters were guaranteed good marriages. At least she wasn't to be married to a drunken, violent old man. There were several men whom she prayed regularly would not be considered for matches. She also prayed for herself and her sisters that a brothel was not in any of their futures.

However, she had never considered Inuyasha as an option. She had never thought circumstances would make her father look somewhere that he considered that beneath him. Inuyasha was also well known for being stubborn to the point of being unreasonable. It was unlikely that he would submit to the whims of her father, making him even more unsuitable for marriage. In all, the possibility of marrying Inuyasha had never been a consideration.

Kagome was startled when her mother and younger sister greeted her. They rushed her into a smaller room to change.

Her mother was surprisingly quiet during the process. Kagome finally broke the silence.

"Mama, this is a good thing, is it not?"

Her mother sighed, pursing her lips. Kagome began to worry more.

"It isn't Inuyasha, is it?" she asked. "Is he…unkind?"

Her mother shook her head distractedly. "I'm not so worried about your future husband." She said in smooth tones. "I remember Inuyasha as a small boy. He was always kind, especially to girls. Even when other boys took to capturing foxes and torturing them, Inuyasha always found ways to let them go. I know that he will take good care of you."

Kagome sensed a slight tremble in her mother's hands. "My husband sees fit to sell you to a stranger, what will he do with my other children, with your sisters? I worry for them." Kagome laid a hand on her mother's leg. She blinked slightly. Her mother had not had so many creases in her face this morning, had she?

Before she could consider it further her younger sister returned with a slightly new kimono that she had been sent to retrieve, and the women commenced their work of dressing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Inuyasha shook out his hair and considered again tying it up more formally. He liked his hair more loose, but who knew what Kagome, his bride to be, would like? The last time he tried tying it up he had looked like a woman. He definitely didn't want to appear womanly in front of her family.

He sighed. His life had been much simpler before he agreed to marry Kagome, the farmer's daughter. He had never wanted the burden of a wife, or any disturbance of his solitude. Ever since his father died he had grown accustomed to living alone in the house, and his cooking was now tolerable, to him at least.

When the elder Keiji had approached him with the order from the headman that he get a wife, he had wanted to tell the man to go to hell. He had been even more appalled when the man had gone into detail with how he could use this woman for his own surely repressed carnal desires. He had been disgusted, but knew that the other villagers would start coming down on him as well if he continued with his bachelordom.

The elder had sensed when Inuyasha began to cave, and presented his options. Inuyasha accepted without really thinking about it, not thinking that it would make a difference. He had no desire to hurt a woman by taking out his desires on her, and many of the girls he'd had the courage to talk to shunned him.

He'd never had the courage to talk to Kagome. She was a middle child of a group of rather overprotective sisters. Her eldest, Kikyo, had noticed his lonely glances at the group of girls playing and told him that she would have him flayed by the village men if he looked at them again. His slight crush on the young girl had been immediately stripped of its wings and brutally slaughtered. And at that moment he immediately chose her because of him memories of longing.

Now he was not so sure. The more he thought about his decision, the more he regretted it. Maybe if he had chosen some girl who had been nasty to him he would feel less miserable about ruining her life. He was fine with his solitude, but women were social creatures. Surely being married to him would take away all her friends, and her family would cut themselves off from her. Now he realized that in his haste to pick a woman he fantasized about having a possibly happy life with he had condemned her to a life of misery.

He sighed miserably again. He was supposed to go to dinner at their house to be formally introduced to her, as his future wife.

_Maybe if I reject her completely then she'll be able to live a normal life. _

_No, have you seen her father? He'd probably have her sent to the brothels. Or married off to one of the old lechers that hang around here. _

He shuddered. He knew that though the marriage had not been formally announced, the entire village knew, and no decent man would have her after she had been promised to the likes of him.

He sighed.

_I should never have agreed to have a wife anyways. What have the elders ever given me? I shouldn't have given in to that spineless ass wipe of a man. _

Finally deciding just to leave his hair down, he smoothed his kimono shirt and mentally rolled his eyes at his nerves. Finally realizing that he would be late, if he wasn't already, he set out to meet his future wife.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"He's here!" hissed the youngest of the girls, sticking her head into the room Kagome had been sitting patiently in since she was ready. Kagome bit her lip and immediately regretted it when she tasted lip rouge on her tongue. Her sister sighed and grabbed a small cloth. She dabbed at Kagome's lips, removing most of the rouge, leaving only the smallest trace of color on her lips.

"You would get it on your food anyways. Besides, you have lovely lips."

Their conversation was stilled when their mother reentered the room. She pursed her lips at Kagome's lack of rouge, but evidently decided to ignore it.

"It's time, Kagome-chan."

Kagome rose and nervously walked forward. "What does his mood appear to be?"

Her mother took her hand and gently tugged her forward. "I think your future husband is as nervous as you." Her mother turned back, and for the first time since the whole affair had started, she smiled. "Be kind and respect him, and I believe that he will treat you well."

Kagome's eyes widened in shock, then settled into calmness. _If mama thinks he's all right, then I suppose I can have a little hope. _

Guided forward by her mother, she carefully kept her eyes on the ground. She heard the swish of the door gliding open, and the sounds of conversation halted as soon as they crossed the threshold. There she glanced up and let her eyes search for him.

Her gaze immediately found him. Seated on her father's right, at Akamaru's usual place, he looked distinctly uncomfortable. His eyes were on her, and in moments their gazes connected. Her lips gaped open slightly and she felt a light pink flush cover her cheeks. Quickly she snapped her jaw up and looked down, embarrassed.

Her mother lead her to the place on Inuyasha's right, where she could serve him while he ate. She knelt and automatically reached to tip sake from the jug into his empty cup. He took the cup and sipped from it. The rest of the family took their places around them. Her mother sat across from Kagome. Much to her discomfort, Akamaru sat on her right, far too close for her comfort.

She unconsciously edged to her left, until her feet bumped against the mat on which Inuyasha sat. She glanced over nervously at him, sure that he would be annoyed by her invasion of his space. His eyes caught hers and he gave her a reassuring look. She felt herself relax almost immediately.

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair. Her father spoke of the history of their family, going on about the various successes and failures, and the future hopes that were now even closer to being achieved. All the while Kagome silently served Inuyasha the dinner. She was happy that she didn't mess up. It was the first time she actually served a man in the position of his wife. Her mother sent her several pleased glances throughout the meal, indicating that she was doing well.

Finally the end of the affair came and her mother indicated to her that she should begin clearing dishes. She did so quickly and rose to follow her mother to the kitchen.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Inuyasha breathed slightly in relief when she left with the pile of dishes. He had been awestruck when she entered the room. She had been very shy, but his heart began to jump out through his throat with every beat when her eyes had met his. The blush that spread across her cheeks made her seem much more approachable, much…gentler.

He felt how nervous she was when she sat down next to him. He had been worried that she might make a mistake and embarrass herself or make her father angry with her. But she performed flawlessly. No one else had even noticed when she edged away from the man on her other side, sidling towards him in an effort to put more distance between her and the other man. He looked down at her in time to catch her frightened glance at him, and he sent her a reassuring glance. He would find out later why she was frightened of this man.

Now that Kagome and the rest of the family had taken their leave with a glance from the head, the father leaned in to him.

"Is she pleasing to you?" he asked. "If she is not, then I have other daughters. But I can assure you that Kagome will serve your every need."

Inuyasha felt mildly disgusted that he would pawn off his daughters so easily. But he smoothed his face. Where before he had not cared for the idea of a woman, this female attracted something from him. It felt necessary to protect her. If that meant trading pleasantries with this man, then he would do so.

"She will make a good wife." He agreed. "And I would be honored to make her my own."

Her father looked like he would burst in pride. "We shall arrange the wedding immediately then. I will take care of everything."

Inuyasha nodded. It was to be expected, of course.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Kagome polished the fine dishes alone in the kitchen. Everyone else had gone on to other tasks, leaving her by herself. She liked the time to herself, as it was the only time where she could think.

_He was…not so bad. He…I don't think he would mistreat me. _

_Mama approves of him._

_But, he lives alone, doesn't he?_

Kagome blanched. She was used to spending most of her time around her sisters, sharing chores and gossiping. She heard that married women had different responsibilities, and didn't play with their childhood friends anymore. She hardly saw Kikyo nowadays, not since she had been married.

As though by fate, Kikyo stepped into the kitchen. She smiled and knelt by Kagome.

"You are to be married soon, imouto."

"Hai."

Kikyo drew herself up. "I must be frank then. I have little time before I must return to my duties. Mother will surely not tell you this, because she is an idealist that believes that everyone has a chance to be happy." She scowled fiercely.

"Part of being a wife," she continued, "is occupying the bed of your husband. Men are different from women, they have…needs." Kikyo cleared her throat loudly. "You will know when he wants you, he will make it clear. It is your duty to lie down and let him take what he needs from you. It will hurt, especially the first time, but it is your duty as his wife to do this for him. Your man will probably also visit the brothels regularly when he gets tired of you."

Kagome drew back. "Why would just Inuyasha do such a thing?"

Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Because he is the kind of man that doesn't care about that kind of thing. I've seen him go up to girls with the intention of ruining them with his base desires. As much as it will make you miserable and you have less chance of producing sons when he goes astray, you may not speak against him."

Kikyo rose, satisfied with the horrified look on her sister's face. "Now you are informed as to the truth behind men." Her eyes softened slightly. "If you do grow lonely in that house by yourself, then time your cycle and deliberately draw him to bed during your fertile time. He will be more likely to leave you alone once you produce a son and only lay with you to produce more."

The door to the outside slid closed.

_Kikyo's just mean-spirited. It can't be that bad…can it?_

_Unfortunately, Kikyo is the only woman other than mama who has lain with a man. And, I think the whole family knows father is not the easiest of partners. _

_She does bring up a good point though. There will be no one but us in that big house. And if he is as reclusive as the rumors say he is…_

_I don't want to be that alone._

**This fiction is set in the mid Tokugawa era, which is around 1700. The characters might be a little OOC, but that is because I am taking into consideration that they grew up in a farming village in 1700. Inuyasha is human, in case that was not apparent. - Akihana**


	2. Chapter 2

**There is insinuation of sexual activity in this chapter. Be forewarned.**

Kagome woke the day of the wedding with slight chills. She looked around and memorized the sight of her sisters sprawled in their futons about the main room. That night she would share a bed with Inuyasha, alone in his house…

She sat up, enjoying the semidarkness of predawn. She rose quietly and crept to the window. She loved how the world looked this early in the morning, everything still fresh, cool and covered in dew. Soft lights danced across the lightening sky.

"Kagome, awake already?"

Kagome turned and faked a smile for her mother. "Hai, Mama. I was enjoying the peace of the early morning."

Her mother smiled. "It is good to use this time. The rest of the day shall be busy."

True to her mother's word, the morning was filled with frantic preparations. Kagome herself was washed and had many oils combed though her black hair, making it slick and shiny. The traditional makeup was applied, and she was told not to touch her face on threat of having to redo her entire makeup assembly. Her hair was painfully styled, and her body was wrapped in the many layers of the wedding kimono.

The whole process, having her family devoting full attention to her, was certainly a wonderful feeling, but it was dampened by the images of what would happen that night. Kikyo's harsh assessment of a wife's duty still floated around in her head.

_My body no longer belongs to me. _Kagome thought sadly. It was another case of not knowing what she had: she didn't appreciate her freedom until it was taken away.

Before she knew it they were in the shrine. It was midafternoon, and the shrine was filled with her family and friends. Inuyasha knelt beside her, and he seemed a lot less nervous than she. They went through the motions almost subconsciously.

Kagome looked around at the people in the shrine. Most were associated with her and her family. She frowned slightly.

_Where is Inuyasha's family? I thought he might have some relatives in Edo, someone who would want to come see him married. _

One last chant filled the air, and then silence permeated the building. Kagome rose a second later than she was supposed to, startled slightly by the quickness of the ceremony.

_Why is it that right when I need more time to think time flows by quickly?_

The feast that followed was splendid. The food was fairly meager, but considering the rationing that had been their lot for the past few months any feast was welcome. Many people in the village came up to the new couple to give their congratulations. Inuyasha accepted for them, obviously uncomfortable with all the attention. Kagome remained silent. Only when her sisters came to visit did she smile slightly and accept their well wishes.

Kikyo never came up to her. In fact, she and Akamaru both were not present at the banquet. Usually she would have been disappointed, but now she didn't really want to have to face Kikyo again.

All too soon calls were made to send the new couple off to their house. Inuyasha rose and led her away from the banquet and away from the main center of town. Most of the houses of the farmers were clustered on one end of the village, with rice fields surrounding them. The main road split the village, and Inuyasha's home lay almost directly on the road, uphill from the rice fields.

It was a beautiful place, really. A small vegetable garden lay on the south side of the house, wild and unruly. A large maple provided shade over the main house without being a threat to roof damage. The stream that went by the village sprang from a cluster of rocks nearby and flowed down along the far side of the house, providing the soothing sound of falling water.

Inuyasha slid open the front door and stepped inside with practiced ease. Kagome hesitantly followed, carefully watching the threshold to make sure she didn't trip.

Her new husband stepped up onto the raised wooden floor and Kagome copied him. A chest sitting on the floor drew her attention. Her things had been carefully packed the night before, and brought over immediately after the wedding ceremony was performed. She walked over to it and attempted to lift the chest.

It rose only slightly from the ground before dropping back to earth with an undignified thud. Kagome pursed her lips.

_I wonder how rude it would be to drag it all the way to my husband's room._

Before she could begin dragging, Inuyasha returned and lifted the chest.

"Get the door." He ordered, voice wavering under the strain.

Kagome blinked and then looked around for said door. She moved as quickly as she could in her wedding attire towards the room that was evidently to be theirs. She slid open the door and pressed against the wall to allow Inuyasha passage.

He grunted when he set it down. "Kami, what is in this thing?" he grumbled.

Kagome blushed in mortification. "Only what is necessary." She replied.

Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Kagome's blush deepened. "I didn't even pack it." She muttered.

"But it is your stuff."

"I think it is. I don't even know what is in there. It could be just rocks." Kagome argued.

Inuyasha growled slightly and opened the trunk before Kagome had a chance to protest.

When he started to thumb through the contents Kagome cried out and grabbed his hands to pull him out of her trunk. Inuyasha sighed and halted his search without a fuss. As soon as his hands were out of her trunk she slammed the lid.

"Fine, then. Are you ready?"

Kagome blushed again, looking down to hide her mortification.

"Did someone tell you what to expect?" Inuyasha pressed.

Kikyo's parting warning replayed in her head and she began to feel the pangs of fear.

"H-hai."

Inuyasha pulled off his outer kimono and tossed it into a corner. Kagome turned away when he began fumbling with the ties on his hakama.

"Ano—" she began, very embarrassed.

He turned back, the ties undone and pants loose.

"I can't undo the obi by myself." She mumbled. He nodded and walked behind her. The jerks at the tie sent shivers clear down to her toes. She trembled as she felt the obi come loose. It dropped to the floor and her kimono loosened. She pulled off the outer layer and carefully folded it up. She organized the obi and put it on top of the folded kimono. She carefully loosened and removed the underkimono, leaving her in a thin kosode.

Now trembling slightly, she turned to the futon. Inuyasha lay upon it, the covers pulled up to his waist.

Kagome knelt next to the mattress and bowed deeply.

"I will try to be the best wife I can to my new husband." She intoned.

"Kagome." He replied. She realized that it was the first time he had said her name. "I'll try to be the best husband I can to you."

Kagome nodded, smiling slightly at him. His gaze turned to her form, his desire in his eyes. Her smile faded and she silently undid the ties on her thin undergarment. She shrugged the garment off her shoulders with her eyes averted. The chill of air against her bare skin gave her goosebumps. She shivered slightly, and slid under the covers.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Inuyasha lay still, not wanting to disturb the girl next to him. He wasn't sure whether she was awake or not, and didn't want to wake her accidentally. He had known that she was frightened, but he hadn't expected it to hurt her.

_Damn, it's probably because I'm so inexperienced. I hurt her with my stupidity. Baka!_

He glanced over in time to catch the reflection of the moonlight on her eyes. He turned away hurriedly, shame filling him.

"Daijobu?" Inuyasha turned back to look at Kagome, noticing the inquisitive tilt her head held.

"Hai." Inuyasha replied. "Ano…"

He cut himself off, unable to ask the same question since he already knew the unfavorable answer.

"My sister," Kagome said. "She said that it hurts for a woman. At least the first time."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, then narrowed. "You should have warned me. I could have been gentler."

Kagome drew back. "I thought you would have known," she said quietly.

He growled under his breath. "I don't know shit, okay?"

"Gomen kudasai. I won't presume again." Kagome said softly, drawing even further away from him.

Internally Inuyasha cursed his foolishness. _I should be the one apologizing to her, not yelling at her. She was just trying to be nice and I had to bite her head off._

The remainder of the night was long. Kagome succumbed to her exhaustion quickly, but he lay awake for what must have been hours before sleep took him. When he opened his eyes the morning light poured through the window and he lay alone on the futon.

He rose and dressed, noting that their wedding attire had been carefully folded and lay atop Kagome's chest of belongings.

When he entered the main room he saw that Kagome sat by the fire, stirring something in a pot slung over the flames. She wore a regular kimono, one of the ones he had seen her wearing everyday. It was worn through at the knees and patched in several places. Inuyasha silently decided that he would have her make herself a new kimono. While her family could not afford such a commodity, he had nothing else to do with his gains.

She cautiously glanced up at him, bowing slightly to acknowledge his presence. Her eyes evaded his when he sought contact.

Breakfast was served in silence. The only sounds to be heard in the hut were the chirping of birds outside and the shuffling when Kagome poured servings of the rice porridge into bowls.

"I need to work today." Inuyasha said abruptly. He stood and walked away without any other orders.

"What should I do, husband?" Kagome called after him. He stopped and turned slightly back towards her. "You need a new kimono. I have enough money to pay for new cloth, or if you want to weave your own you can. Just come to me when you are ready to go and purchase anything." He left without further discussion.

Kagome washed the dishes and looked around for anything she might use. The first thing she noticed was that the house had not seen much cleaning. A fresh layer of dust lay in the corners and on some of the walkways. Kagome found a rag and began to attack the dirt.

Several hours later she paused in her efforts. The woodwork shone with her efforts, and she had even scrubbed the tatami and hung them out to dry. But the firepit had obviously not been cleared out in quite some time, and she hadn't dared to look in the closets yet. She had also noticed that the garden showed definite signs of neglect. She could arrange with her mother to get seeds for a vegetable garden, but the soil needed much tending before it would yield any fruit.

_I wonder if this was why he decided to find a wife. He obviously doesn't want to take care of his home._

_That or he can't. Father couldn't clean if his harvest depended upon it. He always said that it was a woman's job. _

It was almost time for lunch, and she could find very little food stored anywhere in the hut. Apparently Inuyasha had survived by eating anything he could find.

She did use the barrel of rice that was in a corner in the hut to make several rice-balls. From what she had discerned about Inuyasha he would likely not come in for lunch on his own. Maybe she could improve his mood slightly with this small kindness.

She plucked up her courage and headed out to the back of the house. A thick layer of sawdust lay over everything back here, and Kagome added it to her growing list of places to clean.

Inuyasha was easy to find. He was shaving pieces of wood into long cylinders, and adding them to the pile he had going by his side. He was so concentrated in his work that he didn't notice her approach.

"Something to eat, my husband?" She asked, hiding her smile when he jumped. Luckily he had pulled the knife away before she spoke, because she was sure that he would not appreciate her making him ruin a piece.

"I don't eat lunch." He replied with hostility.

Kagome's smile didn't falter. "But it will help you concentrate and you will be able to work harder. I worked hard to make them."

Inuyasha took the proffered food reluctantly. "Rice balls don't take that much effort."

Kagome looked at him incredulously, and before common sense could kick in, she bit back at him.

"Please, I had to clean the entire kitchen to make it even habitable, and I'm amazed this rice was there at all, given the state of the food supplies. What did you eat all this time?"

She immediately lowered her head. "Gomen kudasai, I shouldn't have said that." A deep red blush spread over her face.

Inuyasha scoffed. "You should be able to speak your mind to me. And I don't care what I eat."

"That's just because you haven't had proper cooking." Kagome insisted, "I'm sure you'll like a little diversity now and again."

A small bag landed at her feet. "I'm guessing that you want to buy food."

"Arigato, husband."

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath and resumed digging into the rice balls.

"I have a name." Kagome looked up, startled. Inuyasha continued. "Everyone in this village calls me 'craftsman' or 'you,' not one calls me my true name. I would expect that my wife would call me by my given name."

Kagome titled her head slightly. "But, husband…Inuyasha-sama, it would be proper for me to address you—"

"My mother called my father by his name. And I am not worthy of the honor you give me. Just Inuyasha, Kagome." He carefully enunciated her name.

Kagome sighed. Truly she wanted to call him by his name, but wanted to put up a token resistance in case her father were to complain. "Hai…Inuyasha."

**Enjoy the fic, and another chapter should be up within a day or two. - Akihana**


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome was unhappy. She had been with her new husband for a week and he hadn't touched her since their wedding night. He rarely spoke to her and he had no need of anything from the village so she had no reason to go and socialize.

After she fixed up the house, which took several days of scrubbing, she decided to tend to the garden. It was the middle of spring and she could plant vegetables and fruits that she could use in her cooking over the winter.

Inuyasha had seemed a little shocked when he came around the corner to see her on her knees pulling weeds. When she had asked him what was wrong he had muttered under his breath and retreated to his work area. He hadn't said anything about it and she hadn't asked him about it. Though, she was almost certain that the garden had belonged to his mother. Maybe he was shocked to see her in a position that he normally saw his mother in.

Her days were spent caring for the garden and cleaning out the house. Her husband spent the day in his work area. She would bring him lunch daily, and sometimes he would invite her to stay and eat with him, but often he would send her away.

He was quiet, and often rude when he did talk to her. He didn't seem to socialize with anyone, and didn't have relations with any of his family, if he even had any remaining family. She had originally gone to the village well to get water, and taken the opportunity to talk with other wives and daughters in the village. But within a few days Inuyasha had stopped her and told her that the water from the stream was cleaner than the village well and much closer.

So she had stopped going. One piece of good news was that her elder sister had been proven wrong. Inuyasha never left the house except to install one of his works or obtain more supplies. He never left at night and she knew he never went into Edo. Unfortunately, he didn't do anything other than his work. As a girl from a multi-sibling family, it was very lonely to have just Inuyasha in the house.

Kagome titled her head back to catch the sun on her neck. She had been sitting in the garden, planting carrots. The daikon she planted had sprouted and she had high hopes for the crop. If anything the garden would give her some amount of pleasure since she could get little from anything else.

She heard a muffled curse from the around the side of the house and hurried to investigate. She picked her way through the sawdust and around various piles of smoothed poles to where she could still hear him muttering darkly.

"Daijobu, husband?"

He looked up sharply, his attention previously focused on the arm that he cradled near his chest.

"Let me see." She insisted, pulling his arm away from his chest. A small piece of scrap wood had plunged a little ways into his arm.

"It's just a glorified splinter. Not worth worrying about." He grumbled.

"It could get infected," Kagome shot back, laying his arm down on the workbench. "Pliers?"

Inuyasha used his good arm to point to a wall where several tools hung. She went there and found the smallest set of pliers. She returned to him and began to gently pull the wood. He hissed under his breath, his other hand tightening into a fist. Kagome finally eased the invader out and tossed it to the floor.

"We should still wash it, to get out small splinters and to stop infection." Kagome took hold of the injured hand and began pulling him from the shop.

A few minutes later water sat boiling on the fire and Kagome sat using a bucket of cold water to wash out the blood.

"It's not so bad. You shouldn't be fussing." Inuyasha grumbled, looking away with a slight red tinge on his cheeks.

"I would not want my husband to become sick." She responded, adding some herbs she had picked earlier to the boiling water. "When those boil down I will mash them and make a poultice to keep away infection."

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably and allowed her to wrap his arm soundly with strips of cloth. She smoothed over the bandage and pulled his sleeve down. She then realized that she had been adjusting his clothing for him and quickly let go, a blush painting her face.

"Thank you." Inuyasha muttered quietly, then fleeing out the door. From the sound of his footsteps, he was going back to his workshop.

Kagome smiled. It was the first time he had honestly thanked her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Inuyasha stretched his arms above his head and then let them rest underneath his neck. When he had woken his wife had been curled against his side and her arm had rested across his midsection. For the past month he had woken at dawn and immediately left the bed they shared to begin his work.

But something was different about today. Rarely did he touch his wife, and this rare instance of innocent contact was one he relished. He knew that many men would be at their wives until their bodies were utterly spent and their stomachs never receded from the expansion to hold sons. But after everything his woman had done for him he had no desire to repay her with pain. He had little desire for a son and while he did desire her, the pain she experienced as a result quelled his lust.

Kagome stirred beside him, her hand sliding up his chest a little ways. He noticed that her hands were chapped slightly from all the scrubbing she had been doing lately. He would have liked that she kept them lily soft, but she wanted to work and with that came hard hands.

Inuyasha smiled softly. It was one of the many ways his woman was different. While the role of a woman was to serve, to be quiet and to bear and raise children in her husband's house, Kagome seemed determined to make her own mark. While she obviously strived to be a good wife, at times her temper and intelligence would shine through, most often when she argued with him over something or other.

Kagome moaned softly, and pulled her arm away from his chest to rub at her eyes.

"Ohayo, Kagome."

She blinked and gave him a quiet smile.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha grunted and sat up. His unkempt hair fell in waves down his back.

"I'm hungry, woman."

"Hai." She responded quietly, getting out of bed and pulling out her new kimono. She had bought the cloth and then cut it into shape. There had been hardly any scraps left over, and those left she sewed together to make a headscarf to keep her hair in place. She began to shed her yukata and Inuyasha turned away.

By the time he had pulled on his clothes for the day Kagome had started the fire. He waited a few minutes, allowing himself to fully wake up before walking out into the main room.

"I have to go to the elder's house and install a new door. I will be away for the whole day." Inuyasha said between gulps of rice porridge. Kagome nodded silently.

Kagome quickly tidied the area, picking up the pot and scraping it clean. Inuyasha drained a cup of water and then left the house. She could her him fumbling with materials in the back, and then slowly walk away.

She put away her cooking utensils. Now that he was gone she could make an effort at picking up his work area.

On her way out she tied back her sleeves with a length of cloth and surveyed the damage.

Sawdust lay all over the ground. It wasn't even possible to see if the ground was grass, dirt, or wooden. Several piles of poles of varying lengths lay strewn about the ground. She decided that they could probably be moved so she could find a way to get rid of the sawdust. Rolling her shoulders, she set out to work.

Several hours later the poles were all organized by length against the wall and the ground was mostly free of sawdust and woodchips. Most had gone into a compost pile she was starting by her garden, while some went directly into the soil itself. At least now the back of their house looked presentable.

Kagome entered the little workshop, minding carefully where she stepped so as not to break anything. She was fairly certain that Inuyasha would not be pleased when he learned she had invaded his space, but after his accident she wanted to make some effort to make the place safer. And that meant clearing out hazards.

When all the dust and scraps were in the compost she saw that the floor was hard packed dirt, and that multiple projects rested on the floor in varying stages of completion. In the back on a set of shelves sat multiple pieces that looked as though they simply needed varnish or paint before they were completed. Among these were small wooden statues and several decorative jewelry boxes. One such box was pushed a little ways away from the rest, almost hidden in the far corner of the top shelf.

It was made from dark cherry wood, carefully designed and engraved. Kagome lifted it slightly from where it rested.

It felt heavy. Everything else had felt empty, but this felt as though it had something in it.

She looked around the box. There was no latch, and the lid appeared to simply lift off. She glanced up guiltily, looking for someone who would witness her failure to control her curiosity. She sighed, feeling invasive in her husband's privacy. She carefully placed the box back where it came from, smoothing over the beautiful wood and then quickly exiting the shop.

She sighed with relief when she was clear of the door. Even knowing that her husband would be gone for several hours more at least did not allow her to lose her tension. She looked down the path to the village and started when she saw Inuyasha leaning against the side of the house. His gaze was mild, but it was clear he had seen her leaving his shop.

"I notice that it is cleaner." He commented. "Where have all the poles gone?"

Kagome soundlessly pointed towards the wall of the house, and Inuyasha got up and came around the corner to investigate.

"I could probably make some barrels to hold all these so they don't lay all over the place. Where did all the chips go?"

Kagome walked him around to the compost pile. He nodded.

"My mother—she kept something like this to contain all the mess my father made. I think she put some in her garden too."

Kagome nodded. She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself. It was the first time she'd heard him talk about his family.

He turned abruptly on her. "What did you touch in the workshop?"

Frightened, she bowed to him. "I didn't mean to upset you, my husband. I just took out the trash on the floor. I didn't touch anything else." She decided silently that it was better not to tell him that she'd admired the box on the top shelf. It was probably for some higher-class wife or something of the like.

He grunted and stomped away. While he was pleased with his wife for trying to improve his work situation, he hoped that she hadn't discovered his special project. He would either have to ban her from coming in or hide it more thoroughly. She would probably realize that he was hiding something if he banned her.

Inuyasha sighed. His life had become far too complicated with obtaining a wife. And he still hadn't decided whether to bring her along on his monthly trip to Edo to sell wares. He had gone right before the wedding and was due to purge his stores again.

"I will go in two days." He said aloud. Whether or not to bring his wife would be decided by then.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As dawn placed rosy fingers over the hills to the east Kagome handed up pole after pole to her husband who stood atop a cart. Edo was a little more than a mile away, but it would be difficult to walk such a distance with all the wares.

When Inuyasha had announced at dinner two nights before that he was going into Edo for the day, Kagome put herself into the plans. She carried a pack on her back, holding a change of clothes for her husband to use, their lunch, and a letter from the headman to an official in the city.

As the sun began to show they were already on the road, Inuyasha pulling the cart by hand and Kagome walking beside and helping to steady its trajectory.

By the time the city came into view Inuyasha was lightly damp underneath his bangs and under his arms. Summer was fast approaching and the rising heat was evidence of that.

Inuyasha lead the way into the city, passing through alleys and finally stopping at a sizeable woodworking shop. He dropped the handles of the cart and walked in without bothering to knock.

"Sesshomaru!" he yelled, causing Kagome to jump. In time a little girl came running down the stairs. She bowed politely to both of them, then lead them inside. Inuyasha waved her quiet when she began protesting leaving the cart on the street. She obeyed reluctantly.

They were lead to what looked like a dressing room. The girl left and returned with a basin of water. She then ran outside the door and shut it. Kagome could hear her plop down on the ground outside and begin to hum to herself.

"Inuyasha?"

He growled.

"I hate doing this." He grumbled, shedding his shirt. He took a cloth sitting in the basin and began to wash quickly, removing most of the sweat and road dirt.

"We're about to meet with my brother. He owns this shop, which was once my father's base of operations."

Kagome blinked. "I thought your father worked out of our hut."

Inuyasha nodded. "He met my mother and then moved there to make her his wife. Sesshomaru was insulted that he would dishonor his first wife. He only allows me to come here because he promised our father. He didn't want the family business to separate."

Kagome nodded.

_So, Inuyasha does have some family. But, why weren't they at the wedding? Did they refuse to come…_

Kagome shot a glance at her husband, who was now donning the more formal attire she had brought in her pack. He looked sullen and volatile, jerking at the ties and muttering under his breath.

_...or did Inuyasha even invite them?_

When Inuyasha finally finished fiddling with his clothes he stood and strode towards the door. He slammed it open and the girl outside jumped to her feet.

"We will see my brother now." He said sharply. He then proceeded to stride down the hall, ignoring the girl's attempts to run ahead and lead them. Not that it was necessary, because apparently Inuyasha knew his own way around. Kagome followed at a brisk pace.

Finally Inuyasha stopped at a door and glanced over to see if she was beside him. In that pause the girl cheerily said that she would announce them before Sesshomaru. Kagome moved behind Inuyasha, knowing that formal etiquette would be required in meeting Inuyasha's elder brother. Besides, if Inuyasha's feelings towards his sibling were reciprocated, she wanted to be out of the line of fire. She would probably have to deal with her husband's moods the whole rest of the day, so she would prefer not to be involved in a fight for as long as possible.

The doors slid open and Inuyasha strode right in, without any respectful bowing or acknowledgement. Kagome hastened to follow.

Sitting on a masterfully carved chair was one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen. His silver hair hung down clear to the floor, accenting his tall and elegant frame. He did not so much sit as he reclined, his presence overpowering even that of the elegant piece on which he rested. He was finely clothed, a sign of wealth. But what gave Kagome slight chills were his eyes.

Inuyasha's eyes were full of fire and life, outright burning when he was angry, warm when he was compassionate. But in his brother's eyes she saw nothing. They were as hard and cold as metal, none of the warmth of wood. Even though his eyes could be called amber, there was none of the light and brightness associated with it. His gaze flicked to her, and she was terrified.

"No respect for your ani-ue, otouto?"

"Why should I have any?" Inuyasha shot back.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, and, if possible, grew even more frigid.

"Because if you lose your connection to me, whelp, then you will starve in that hamlet our father frittered away his life in. I certainly hope that your work is up to specifications this month. I hardly was able to sell your crude works last time, even with reductions in price and touching up."

Inuyasha seethed silently. From behind him Kagome could see that his fists were tightened and was quivering with rage. She frowned as well. Rude he may be, his work ethic was second to none, and she knew he took great care in finishing everything to perfection. Her thoughts drifted to the box on the shelf and she wanted to slap the man around. How dare he insult his otouto like this?

"I brought this month's wares," Inuyasha said, his voice forced calm. "They are up to specs."

Sesshomaru leaned forward. "I hope they are, or you and your wench will starve in your village." He leaned back into his chair, appearing lost in thought.

"I suppose even such a whelp as you is man enough to experience desire for a woman." He sneered. "Though I think I would have taken a whore over some farmer's brat."

Kagome seethed behind her husband. Third child in a family of girls she may be, but this arrogant prick had no right to insult her or her husband.

"Were you born a pompous, arrogant asshole or did you just suck on lemons during your childhood?" she snapped, coming out from behind Inuyasha. He looked over at her, startled.

"And how can you sneer at his work, when I can tell by your hands that you have not touched a chisel in many months? And if all you ask of Inuyasha is apprentice work like common poles then all you will get is common work. He does beautiful engravings, but you won't allow him to grow because of your snit with your father. You cast him aside like trash and that's not right!" Kagome finished yelling, surprised at herself.

Sesshomaru sat back, his eyes wide. Inuyasha looked stunned beyond words.

Sesshomaru recovered first, glancing away and looking bored.

"Since your woman claims you have such skill then feel free to…_indulge_ yourself. You are clearly indulging your wife."

Inuyasha snarled. "At least my woman defends me. That is more than I can say for your catch of a wife. Is she still abed, or perhaps being handfed her breakfast?"

Sesshomaru gave what in a lesser man would be considered a sneer. "My wife is none of your business."

"But my wife is yours?"

Sesshomaru waved his hand. "I do not know if I should even acknowledge the wench, seeing as I never saw a wedding ceremony."

Inuyasha turned crimson and looked away. Kagome stepped forward, seeing as Inuyasha did not seem upset with her yet.

"With how you treat him how could he expect anything better on the day of his wedding?" she said, her tone light. "It is supposed to be a time of joy, and your presence would have dampened the whole affair. I would rather keep my happy memories of a wedding without you," she smiled sweetly, "than be 'acknowledged' as a proper companion for Inuyasha-sama. Besides, you would have found another way to discredit the union."

She turned politely to her husband and bowed. "My husband, the air in here is unpleasant. Perhaps we could retire to soothe ourselves of the miasma."

Inuyasha still looked shell-shocked, but nodded and lead the way from the chamber, again not bothering with the pleasantries of goodbyes. They made it all the way to the room where his shirt lay before Inuyasha began to laugh. He collapsed against the wall and laughed, a big smile painted across his face.

"I have never seen—_anything_—like that before." He said between chortles. He jumped to his feet and hugged her tight.

"My beloved wife, I am taking you out to lunch. In commemoration of having stunned him."

Kagome gasped in his arms. "But, won't he be angry?"

Inuyasha spun her around. "He is always angry at me for some reason. But now I feel like I'm worth something. Oh, my wife." He twirled her again.

Thus he swept them out, ignoring the squawks of one of the retainers. She noticed that their cart was gone, probably behind the fence that lined the shop. Inuyasha retained a grip on her hand, so she walked essentially alongside him. He soon found a small restaurant and pulled her in.

Soon they were seated side by side at a table in the corner of the little place. Inuyasha had his arm around her waist and didn't seem like he was letting go anytime soon.

"You have happy memories of our wedding day?" he asked, sipping his sake.

Kagome blushed slightly in shame. To be honest it hadn't been very happy at all, nor had her life with her husband.

"It marked a period of change in my life," she settled on. "And—I was afraid of being married to someone I did not like."

"Or being hurt by that man," her husband commented. She glanced at him, startled.

"The one you were sitting next to when we met as betrothed, your sister's husband. He was giving you looks a married man should not give his wife's sister." He sipped again. Kagome filled the cup when he set it down.

"Yes." She said softly.

"How would you know about my engraving?" Inuyasha asked next.

Kagome drew a blank. "Well—I—uh—"

"You did go look at the things in the workshop, didn't you?"

She bowed her head. "Hai, husband."

His hand smoothed her hair. "I love to work on such pretty things," he commented. "But no one in the village would have uses for them. I could not sell them; perhaps only give them as gifts. And therefore they are useless." He drained the sake.

Kagome hesitated to fill the cup again. He hadn't eaten very much breakfast and she knew drinking on an empty stomach would intoxicate him quickly.

Inuyasha chuckled and pushed the bottle away. "You're right, I probably shouldn't get drunk."

Their meal came soon and both ate well. It was decently prepared and served on lovely dishes. Inuyasha paid and soon they were walking in the streets again.

"You are in a very good mood." Kagome commented. "It is nice to see."

He smiled broadly. "The meetings with my brother have never gone well, up until this one." He turned towards her. "I'm pleased that you are my wife. I was uncertain whether I would like having a woman in the house again."

Kagome blushed at he praise. He smiled. "Come, since you know of my engraving, your should also know of my other secret pleasure." He grabbed her sleeve and began to tow her through the town.

"See." He pointed triumphantly at a display. Inside were a number of swords. Most were samurai weapons or even courtly decorative blades, but underneath them all lay something unique. Upon its own podium sat a wooden blade. It was shaped and carved so that it appeared to carry an edge, except for its wooden nature. The hilt was a piece of art. A dragon's head was the basis of the hilt, with the user gripping the scaled neck and the tongue exploding from the dragon's mouth to become the blade. Its eyes shone jade below delicately carved eyebrows and a fur mane that covered the top of the head.

Kagome gaped in wide-eyed wonder.

"It's so beautiful." She murmured. The blade shone of its own accord, credit to attentive sanding and varnishing.

"I only made one, because the wood is costly, and they take significant time to shape. I could not complete more without being unable to make Sesshomaru's order. I was late on some orders in the village because of this project."

He sounded almost proud of the time and dedication the piece took.

Kagome sighed. "You are vain in your beauty, beautiful sword. You took my husband away from his work."

Inuyasha rolled his shoulders back, obviously proud of his work.

"We should return and see if my brother has something new to gripe about."

Kagome pondered as she walked slightly behind her husband. It seemed that Inuyasha had plenty of ability to go far, so why was he winnowing poles and chopsticks?

**By the way, if anyone is wondering about the wooden sword, I saw that exact sword at a woodworker's tent in a farmer's market. It was amazingly beautiful, and amazingly expensive. Which is why I sadly do not own it. I hate when money comes into play in shopping because it makes everything so much less fun. **

**The next update will probably be on Friday, because I kind of like the idea of updating three times a week on specific days. So, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, kay? **

**See you guys then. -Akihana**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lemon Warning: This chapter originally had a sex scene that had a little more detail. It has been removed, and if you want to read the chapter in full please go to and search for author Akihana. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi is that lucky person.**

The utopia of the morning made Kagome feel tranquil, but she grew uneasy as they approached the home of Sesshomaru again. She had a feeling that he had been shocked speechless by their rude behavior, but by now would have some response formulated. She cast a worried glance at her husband. He was jubilant, and he was almost bouncing as he walked. If he was beaten down by his brother he would be in a sour mood for days.

Inuyasha burst into the house the same way he had that morning. He went straight to the audience chamber, ignoring the servants in the household.

"Oi, Sesshomaru!" The elder looked up from his desk, where what looked like account books were spread out. He set down the wet brush gracefully, and Kagome thought she saw a hint of a sigh on his lips.

"Your lack of manners is only met by that of your wench, otouto."

"At least I don't have a bug up my ass. So, do you have the order?"

Sesshomaru cast a withering glare in their direction.

"Since your woman testified about your amazing skills, you can waste the month tinkering with whatever you fancy. When you bring in only useless wood fit for the fire then you can make up this month's and the following month's apprentice work."

He turned back to his accounts, a clear dismissal. Inuyasha frowned. Kagome had turned to leave, but stayed when she noticed his steady stance.

Sesshomaru glanced up from his desk. His eyes darted to one side, as though he was too elegant to roll them around completely.

"Must I actually dismiss you since you are too dull to notice you are unwelcome?"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "I gave you my work for the month, so I need my payment."

Stroking his fine hair thoughtfully, Sesshomaru reached down and cast a small bag in one smooth motion towards Inuyasha. He caught it, thanks to quick reflexes.

Unashamedly, he went through the contents, and finally nodded to show it was satisfactory. He upended the pouch into his purse, and threw the little embroidered piece back at his older brother. He caught it without missing a beat.

Finally Inuyasha turned from the room and made his way to where his shirt was still resting in the room, and donned it. Kagome picked up her pack and they went back outside, where Inuyasha retrieved the now empty cart. They left quietly, not wanting to disturb Sesshomaru or his household any more than they had to. The letter that had been entrusted to them was delivered, and they were on the road home by mid-afternoon.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Soft grating of dishes filled the air in the house, joined by the chirping of crickets and a weak breeze rustling the leaves of the trees outside. Kagome put the last of the clean dishes away in the kitchen, and rolled her shoulders. She wasn't used to the long walk to Edo and she was beginning to feel soreness in her legs and back. She imagined it was nothing compared to Inuyasha's stiffness, as he had to pull the cart.

She doused the last of the lamps, knowing the way to her room even without light. Inuyasha was already abed, stretching his legs to soothe the muscles. She noticed his hiss of pain and went to help him.

"Anata, will you allow me…?"

Inuyasha looked up at her, nodding after a few moments. She gently massaged his legs, feeling knots in his thighs. He sighed as she applied pressure with the pads of her thumbs. He slowly relaxed, thanks to her soothing ministrations. She then moved up to his back, easing the stiff muscles there. He shivered slightly, and his entire body relaxed into the futon. She chanced a glance at his face.

His eyes were closed, his dark eyelashes dusting his cheek. His lips were resting lightly together, but they pursed when she applied pressure to his shoulder blades. His hair fanned out around him, loose and billowing as always.

He opened his eyes, and she was taken aback at the peace that was contained in the sleepy, half-closed orbs.

"Your turn." He mumbled, sitting up and gently pushing her down on her front. She protested slightly, but he ignored her and proceeded to pull her yukata down to her waist.

She closed her eyes when he began to massage her back. The feel of his toughened hands on her was strangely soothing. She sighed and relaxed.

A slight breeze made her shiver slightly, realizing her half-naked state. She pulled her arms up to herself protectively, shooting a worried glance at her husband. He didn't notice her glance, because he was transfixed with the smooth muscles of her back. He ran an unsteady hand from her shoulder blade down the smooth curve of her side and rested on the swell of her hip.

She shivered again, feeling heat rising in her cheeks. His eyes had lost the sleepy-ness, and seemed hypnotized in a different way. A glaring reminder of his suffocating presence was the warmth of his large hand on her naked hip. The roughness chafed against her soft skin, and she quivered silently.

The next few moments were filled with slight glances and some twitching, but it resulted in Inuyasha tugging at the knot of her sleeping yukata while kissing her neck and pulling her against his chest.

Finally the knot in her obi came undone and he pushed her down onto the futon, slipping his knee between her legs and settling at her hips.

**Lemon Deleted**

After a few minutes both their breathing had calmed and Kagome looked at her husband's calm face, to see that he was sound asleep. She gently swept his stray hair away from his sweaty face and tucked it behind his ears.

They lay quietly like that for what felt like ages, but finally Kagome acknowledged that his weight made it hard for her to breathe and she eased him to the side. With a little wiggling she dislodged herself and curled up on what was her designated space on the futon.

Several minutes later she was still tossing sleeplessly. She rose temporarily to redon her yukata and straighten her mussed hair into a braid.

"Kagome?"

Kagome jumped slightly and turned towards the futon. Inuyasha was sitting up, watching her coolly. She smiled and returned to his side. He wrapped hands around both her upper arms, searching her eyes with his. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but evidently he found it, as he soon nodded. He wrapped an arm around her waist firmly and tucked her underneath the cover, against his body.

"It didn't—hurt—did it?" he mumbled hesitantly.

"No" she whispered. "It was—nice."

"Nice," he said. "Good."

He sighed, and rolled slightly, tugging her into his side, under his arm.

"My wife," he mumbled sleepily.

"Inuyasha," she replied, finally beginning to feel drowsy.

"Night, Kagome."

"Good night, Inuyasha."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Ane! Ane!" Kagome turned and smiled at her younger sisters. Their coats fluttered around them, as the weather had grown chill with the arrival of autumn.

The whole village was alight with lanterns as they celebrated the day of their protective _kami_. The little statues had been decorated with new paper clothing and carried through the village and to each rice field to ensure that they would keep over the winter to produce new rice in the spring. Then the little gods were put in their newly oiled and dusted shrine where they were presented with many offerings of little fruit and little piles of rice for each deity. After that was done the village settled in to celebrate.

For Kagome it was the first real social event since her wedding, and it was a very welcome opportunity to socialize with the other women of the village. She was particularly happy to see her mother and sisters. Her father had been right about part of her marriage: her family looked better fed and happier, and she saw that some of their kimono were fairly new and clean.

"Ane, what's it like being away?" the youngest sister asked, her bright eyes curious. Kagome giggled at the girl's interpretation of marriage.

"Well, I'm not that far away. I live just up the road. You should come and visit me. And it is very quiet. My husband likes things quiet, and he is devoted to his work."

The youngest girl hopped up and down with glee. "We visit!" she exclaimed. Kagome's mother frowned. "You should ask your husband, so there are no misunderstandings between you." She chided. Kagome nodded obediently to her mother. At the reminder of her husband, she cast about for him. Her face dropped when she saw him sitting alone, drinking sake from a little bottle on the bench next to him. He was glowering at the ground, scuffing blades of grass with his feet.

Kagome turned back to her family with a bitter smile. "I will be right back." With several choruses of "Hai!" she went to him.

He looked up at her when she approached and turned away, a shamed blush rising on his face.

"I get to be with you all the time. Go be with your family." He ordered. She sat down next to him anyway, tentatively setting a hand on his. He stiffened, but did not pull away.

"Ane! Ane!" her youngest, Mariko, jumped up into her lap, grabbing the collar of her new kimono to hold herself on. "We visit?"

"Visit?" Inuyasha echoed.

Kagome nodded. "My sisters want to come visit me."

"Fine."

The little girl squealed with glee. Before Kagome could stop her she hopped laps and gave Inuyasha a bear hug. "Arigato, Ane's husband." She chirped sweetly.

Much to Kagome's surprise, Inuyasha broke out into a smile. "I might even have something for you when you come visit." Mariko's face lit with excitement.

"Can we go tomorrow?"

Inuyasha chuckled. "I need some time to make it, little one."

She frowned. "Day after tomorrow?"

Kagome smiled and gently pulled her sister off Inuyasha's lap. "We'll arrange it with Okaa, won't we?"

Inuyasha stood hesitantly when she did, abandoning the sake bottle. "May I come?" His violet eyes were timid, and he looked even lonelier with his slumped and dejected stance than when he was drinking alone.

Kagome smiled. "I'll introduce you to my sisters." Little Mariko grabbed his hand and pulled him along towards the knot of women.

After introducing all the female members of the family Inuyasha backed away, this time intercepted by her father before retreating to his bench. Kagome remained with her sisters, catching up on the gossip of the village.

"How is your newlywed life?"

Inuyasha turned to see Akamaru, his hooded eyes watching him carefully. He had been at the sake, and was definitely drunk.

"It is very pleasant." Inuyasha said between gritted teeth. This man had eyed his wife and had done enough to make her nervous around him, which made him an enemy in his book.

"We have something in common," Akamaru continued. "We both married women of the same family. That would make us brothers, wouldn't it?"

Inuyasha stiffened, his guard going up. "If that kind of relationship were honored, then every member of the village is a brother or sister."

Akamaru's eyes narrowed. "Of course a craftsman wouldn't understand." He muttered, clearly intending to be unheard but the drink affecting his voice.

"Wouldn't understand what?" Inuyasha bit back, his hackles raising at the insult.

Akamaru glanced at him. "You don't pay taxes to the bakufu, do you? So you wouldn't understand the burden we carry. You can go to Edo and buy rice when you need to. You can even have meat! We will likely not have enough to feed the villagers because the shogun wants to feed his own wealth by hoarding the rice while the common people starve."

Inuyasha backed away in alarm. "That is treason!" he hissed.

Akamaru laughed. "Things are already in motion." He said, his eyes staring into space.

"Akamaru!" Kagome's father interrupted, dragging the man away. "You have had far too much sake. I do not want my son to spread such a bad impression on the village." The man shot Inuyasha a cold look before hauling the drunk Akamaru away.

Inuyasha frowned deeply. He'd heard of revolts in other provinces across Japan, but never had there been one here. He hoped that Akamaru and Kagome's father were just up to idle drunken banter, which wouldn't endanger the rest of their family, or his wife.

He marched over to the women. The sun had set and slowly the crowds were beginning to disperse to put children to bed and begin cleaning up. Inuyasha fought his way over to Kagome.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, anxious to be away from the troublemakers. Kagome nodded, making her final rounds of goodbyes with promises of visits. Mariko came over and hugged as much of him as she could reach, and he patted her back. He hoped she would not fall into trouble should her father be implicated.

Kagome hummed quietly up the road home. Inuyasha brooded over what he had learned. He would have to make some inquiries in town, which meant dealing with his brother. He grumbled. He didn't want to have to rely on Sesshomaru, but that would be better than being caught unprepared for an uprising.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome queried softly. "What are you thinking about?"

Inuyasha grunted noncommittally and stomped into their home, not pausing to light the fire but instead going straight for their room.

Kagome followed. "I saw that you were talking to my sister's husband." She commented vaguely. "You looked displeased." Inuyasha grunted again.

Kagome sighed and began changing into her sleeping yukata.

"My mother says there isn't enough rice."

Inuyasha looked back at her. She was tying the obi absently.

"Why the hell were we celebrating then?"

Kagome sighed. "It's because we get lots of government officials who take rice and money for their purposes without compensating us, and the yield was not excellent this year. And taxes were high."

Inuyasha sighed. While he didn't think the government was right to take the supplies of the villagers, even he knew that challenging that meant losing your head. And now that he had a woman to provide for he wasn't going to take stupid risks like that.

Kagome continued. "The most we can hope for is that the governor dies soon and that the shogun appoints someone who actually cares about the corruption in the government."

"The governor has been bedridden for about a week now, according to the newspaper." Inuyasha said, speaking for the first time. "It's pretty vague about what is causing it, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone is appointed to take over the post soon."

_Or until the revolutionaries decide to strike._

Inuyasha lay awake thinking long into the night, after Kagome had fallen asleep tucked against his side.

**Thank you for leaving reviews! See you guys on Monday! - Akihana**


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome groaned at the cold, tucking her nose underneath the futon covers to keep it from becoming frozen by the icy wind that blew outside. As she burrowed further underneath the quilt she bumped into Inuyasha, who grumbled in his sleep. It was late at night, and Kagome was unable to sleep.

_Maybe it is just the cold, and that's what is bothering me._

She rolled onto her back, still huddled in the warmth. The cold snap of a few days before still had many of the villagers waiting for better weather in the warmth and relative comfort of their huts.

Kagome also discovered that Inuyasha rarely stopped his work for foul weather. The workshop was more or less inside, but he would usually only work half of the day, returning to the fire in the main hut to recuperate from his efforts. She also discovered that he had a very inventive way to warm up, which included creative use of the household furniture.

She chuckled to herself. She had been so confused when he first pushed her to the ground in the main room, and so embarrassed throughout and afterwards that he spent the next few days sulking, which she determined was his form of apologizing. While it would have been nice to have a spoken apology, his tender care in making sure she was comfortable on the bed a week later before beginning inclined her to forgive him.

Their trip to Edo a few days before had been unpleasant, mainly because the fresh snowfall made the road slippery, and Inuyasha had a hard time getting the cart to move smoothly.

Their encounter with Sesshomaru had been nothing short of interesting. He had examined the carefully worked little boxes, decorative inlay designs, and other miscellaneous ideas Inuyasha had experimented with. But what had captured his attention the most was the sword.

She shook her head, a pleased smile gracing her face. She wouldn't have pegged Inuyasha for being superstitious, but when he explained what he expected her to do to contribute to the success of the sword making, she had almost laughed. That is, until she realized he was serious.

They had conducted an extensive cleaning of the whole workshop, making sure no lesser wood or contaminant could infect the precious wood, which was wrapped in oiled cloth on the table. Then when Inuyasha began work shaping the piece he refused to let her put the scraps in the compost pile. Every other day they were gathered and burned in front of an altar, with a commemorative dollop of incense.

Inuyasha had also insisted in purifying himself before and after working on it, which consisted of pouring water from the stream, in early winter, over his naked body. And he never cursed or growled over the discomfort.

Kagome sighed. He was as serious as a smith about his weapon. The only thing that had her miffed was his superstition that a woman's gaze would cause irreparable harm to the work of art. She had tried to bring him lunch on the first day, and not only had he not eaten it, he yelled at her and threw her out of the workshop, refusing to talk to her that night at dinner. She had been so annoyed that she didn't bring him lunch the next day, which she promptly realized was no revenge at all since another of his superstitions was that food would contaminate the process.

When the magnificent sword, she assumed, was finally done, it was placed in a box lined with silk and closed up. It spent the next few weeks on their altar, and Inuyasha would get cross if she looked at it too long. It was one of their first fights as a couple. She understood his point of view, but was still angry that he wouldn't take her into consideration. Especially considering that he had been so open and explicative for her before. A few days before they were set to make the trip, he had pushed her away with the stabbing remark that she was becoming a nag. They hadn't spoken for the rest of the day.

She had been shooed from the room when the sword was brought up, the final thing to be presented to Sesshomaru for inspection. She assumed that it must have awed him, because he was unusually grouchy when he dispatched them. She did notice that the purse that Inuyasha had dumped into his wallet had been significantly larger, and Sesshomaru once again decided to "indulge his imagination."

Kagome rolled out of bed, deciding that she could use another blanket. She dug one out of her chest at the side of the room, and frowned in displeasure when she turned back around. Her husband had stretched out to take most of the futon. She figured it must have been his personal one, because it had clearly been used when she first slept in it and it was slightly small for a married futon. But not many people could afford new futons. Many people in the village simply slept on their wooden floors.

Inwardly she gave a deep sigh. It was very late, and she did not want to wake him and ask him to move. But shoving him over seemed beyond rude. She held the blanket around her more tightly.

_It should be warm enough._

She settled herself on the floor in front of her chest, curling her feet under the blanket to keep from freezing her toes off.

_I hope he's guilty when he wakes up._ She thought bitterly, still angry over the sword and his cold behavior.

The cold kept waking her throughout the night, and when she saw light appearing in the sky through the window she rose and prepared herself for the day. She planned to reorganize the kitchen area today, and she wanted to start a dinner that would cook all day. Her mother had taught her the recipe and she had been itching to try it.

_Plus, he will have to smell it all day, but won't get any until sundown._

Her kimono on and hair carefully tied back into a coil behind her head, she folded her blanket and tidied it away. She left their bedroom, predawn light peeking through the window and her husband sleeping soundly in their futon.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Light in his eyes made Inuyasha grumble and shift over to shield his face. He sat up, noticing that his wife was gone and there was no morning tea or miso set up near their bed.

He sighed. Kagome had been quite angry with him for the past few weeks, and he wasn't really sure why. He didn't degrade her or beat her; he ate her meals and tried to be gentle in bed. Sure, she had been annoyed about not being able to see the sword, but she would get to see it in the shop when they returned in a month, and if not there would be others. She just didn't understand that he couldn't afford distractions while in the process of making such a complicated piece.

Shrugging into his clothes, he thought over his work plans for the day. He hoped to finish the box he had been working on, one that would hopefully hold a sword. All that were left were the little finishing touches and engravings around the sides. Then he would be free to spend the rest of the day with his wife, getting her to tell him what the problem was so he could fix it. He really didn't like being at odds with the only other occupant of the hut.

When he was dressed he emerged from their room, finding his wife hovering over a pot. She had numerous dried vegetables and other foodstuffs around her. He walked over to see into the pot, intent on seeing inside. Without even glancing at him Kagome shifted the lid of the pot over so that it covered the insides.

"It will burn if a man touches it." She remarked, hardly hiding her sarcasm. "Your breakfast is there." She pointed, and he saw three rice balls on a small plate.

"What is that for?" he asked, sitting in front of the plate and beginning on the rice.

She shrugged. "Dinner."

He ate slowly, hoping she would reopen the pot and begin work again. However she did simple things like cleaning the knives and making sure the fire was burning at the right temperature. When she began repeating some of the same tasks she had already done it became apparent that she was waiting for him to leave.

He did not indulge her, resolving himself to out-stubborn her. He sat waiting, his plate long empty, knowing that eventually she would have to resume work.

She finally took his plate and washed it. She began reordering her pots and pans, various utensils, and eating dishes.

After several minutes he was bursting with impatience. She was obviously content to sit there moving pots until she rotted. Finally he snarled in impatience and rose, stomping off to his workshop.

_Damn stubborn wench._ He seethed inwardly.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief when he left. She was still worried that she might have gone too far with the sarcastic insult, but he hadn't reacted. She turned back to her stew. It was mostly done anyway, since she had started so early. All that was left was to add the ingredients to the stew and make sure it was thickening around the noodles at the right consistency.

When everything was added she cleaned all the remaining dishes. With that done she set about the daily chores of housekeeping: cleaning and laundry.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hungry, but in a better mood than before, Inuyasha returned to the house. In the main room he found Kagome in the middle of the floor, obviously doing the laundry.

"How long is that going to take you?" he asked, his stomach growling.

Her head shot up, and she bit her lip. "It takes several hours, husband."

His brow furrowed in impatience. "What about lunch?"

He winced when fear crept into her eyes. "My husband, since you usually don't eat lunch, I did not consider to prepare something."

"Don't you usually eat something?" he pressed.

She shook her head. "You are the one doing the hard work, my husband." She said, her head bowed. Her raised his eyebrows, seeing as she was currently wringing out a padded hanten.

He sighed heavily and walked over to plop down on the floor next to her.

"Why are you angry?"

Kagome started. "I am not angry, husband," she said dully.

Inuyasha looked puzzled. "Yes you are," he pressed. "You wouldn't let me see what you were doing, and you're not talking to me."

Kagome bit her lip, and he could see she was holding back a sharp retort. "I will strive to improve," she stated.

He growled and pulled her hands out of the soapy water. Her hands were white and clammy. He looked up at her face. When he first came in he thought that the heat of the laundry water flushed her face red. But the combination of all her symptoms made him look her over.

"You're not feeling well, are you?" he said accusingly.

Kagome waved him off. "I'm fine, really. Just a little tired." She looked at him shyly through her lashes. "Thank you for your concern."

Inuyasha sputtered slightly, a blush materializing on his face. Kagome was just congratulating herself on throwing him off when he raised a hand to her forehead.

"You are too warm." He murmured softly to her. He wrapped an arm around her upper body and lifted her up, allowing his lower arm to lift her under the knees. Kagome blushed at being held in such an intimate and weak position, but Inuyasha ignored her and carried her gently to their bedroom. He set her down and tucked her into the futon.

"I'll finish the laundry." He assured, smoothing the coverlet over her. "Then we can eat your dinner together later."

"You know how to do laundry?" she blurted, surprised by his non-chalance.

He shrugged. "I lived alone for a long time. I couldn't just keep wearing the same dirty clothing. And when I was younger I would help my mother with her chores, which included the laundry."

Kagome snuggled into the bed, accepting the warm comfort the futon offered. Without thinking about it, she found herself dozing.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Oi, wake up."

"Nnghhh."

"You can sleep after you eat, okay?"

"Go 'way."

"Keh, you're grumpy when you're tired. Up!"

Kagome grumbled as Inuyasha pulled her into a sitting position. "Buckwheat noodles in stew," he said. "Good for colds and fevers. So eat it already!"

A pair of chopsticks was thrust into her hand, and she finally opened her eyes. Inuyasha was scowling at her, holding a steaming bowl and holding her up with his other hand. Somewhat dizzy, she gazed blankly at Inuyasha.

He grumbled. "Eat." With that he took the chopsticks back and stuffed a string of noodles into her half-open mouth. Predictably, she choked. A cup was thrust into her hand and she drank from it, the cool water soothing her throat. With a scowl she took back the chopsticks and began to eat for herself.

Inuyasha continued to watch over her, grumbling over her sickness and having to feed her. She knew better though. He wouldn't have had water for her immediately if he wasn't worried. He wouldn't even have bothered to feed her if he wasn't worried.

She finally finished, feeling slightly better with a stomach full of warm food.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Inuyasha." She said shyly.

He grunted and took the bowl from her.

"Now you should go back to sleep." He commanded, tucking her back into the futon.

Kagome stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep now that she had woken fully. She listened to the clanking in the main room as Inuyasha presumably ate dinner. She heard him set the dishes down and then make his way back to their room. She sighed internally. Even if he could do laundry, it was too much to ask that he would wash the dishes.

Inuyasha shed his clothes and pulled on his sleeping yukata, with his back to her. She would never admit that she enjoyed the view immensely, his intricately built form, his strength and lithe build. She blushed. She was sure she would be unable to look if he was facing forward. Not only would he see her stare, but she would be able to see all of him. She shivered.

Kagome was unhappily startled from her musing by Inuyasha pulling her into his warm body under the covers.

"I'm not going to risk you getting cold." He murmured. Her frame fit perfectly into the mold of his body. His chin rested atop her head, his arm was thrown over her stomach, and one of his legs clamped her lower body into place. Her bottom was pushed into the crux of his body, and her back was firmly pressed against his chest.

She yawned and snuggled the futon. His warmth was making her wonderfully drowsy, and at the moment she could not make herself mad at her husband. He had been wonderfully tender when he learned that she was sick and tired and took up her slack without a fuss.

_He really is an amazing man. _Kagome smiled at that thought. _He will drive me crazy with his attitude, but I know that he really is sweet through all those layers of protective anti-socialism. I just have to break through and nurture that niceness in him_.

With that though Kagome fell asleep in the arms of her husband.

**In case anyone is wondering about the smith comment, swordsmiths in Japan were almost religious figures. They would purify themselves and their forge before even thinking about forging a sword. This purification often entailed sitting in a waterfall, like Buddhist monks often do, and ritual meditation. They are also quite superstitious. Fishermen and geisha were as well, as were many people I imagine. Especially in that time when things were explained by "the kami decided to do it," people really believed that doing something unlucky would affect their standing in the universe. Inuyasha obviously takes this very seriously, look how serious he is about Tetsusaiga in the series, while Kagome blows it off as silly. (I'm kinda with Kagome on this…) - Akihana**


	6. Chapter 6

The lights in the village were put out, and everyone seemed to be bedded down for the night. But something made Inuyasha uneasy, and kept him awake even though his wife slept peacefully next to him. He had been out to look on the village a few moments before, and he thought he'd seen movements in the darkness of night.

He frowned. Akamaru's cryptic, drunken warnings had not been easily cast aside. Neither had the way Kagome's father been watching the interaction. Inuyasha was fairly certain that these two men were heavily involved in whatever was being plotted in the late night meetings.

A few days earlier Inuyasha used the excuse of bringing his wife's family to visit to gather reconnaissance. Kagome's mother and younger sisters had all come, young Mariko squealing with delight and running up to jump into his arms. He had produced the promised gift, a wooden top, which they had spent at least an hour spinning across the hut. While Inuyasha was with the little girl Kagome talked with her mother and sisters, whose troubling information she relayed to him later that night.

Her father had been leaving at all hours, sometimes bringing over other men in the village and sending away the women so they could talk in secret. A bit of prodding with the younger girls revealed that their eavesdropping had caught details of many of the conversations: status of weapons and fighting men, and morale of the farmers in the area. Something large was about to happen, and Kagome's family was right in the middle of it.

Kagome had been very distraught at piecing all the news together. While she belonged to his family now, as a new wife, the rest of her sisters and her mother were not so lucky. It was common for the bakufu to nip all possible buds of revolution and unrest by executing all related to the criminals. In one fell swoop, Kagome's family could be slaughtered, as well as many others in the village.

Inuyasha held his wife closer to his body. She moaned softly but otherwise did not protest the squishing. He was not even sure that she would escape unscathed.

_She is my wife. No one will go near her if I have anything to say about it. _

From the information they had garnered, the uprising was to happen right before New Years, so they could usher in the new year with a new tax policy and with more rice and money allocated to them than the year before.

_They wouldn't come for us in Edo, especially not if I were to take them to the house of Sesshomaru. _

_That would mean putting up with the bastard for longer than I ever wanted to. And that is if he will even allow us to stay. He definitely has the room, but he might refuse just to be a cold ass._

_He would at least offer shelter to Mariko. _Inuyasha's frown deepened. _He damn well better offer shelter to an innocent child._

Inuyasha shifted in the futon, trying to fall asleep. Tomorrow he would have to start making arrangements with his brother to get the women out of the town before whatever was happening came down.

Inuyasha lay his head down in Kagome's hair, letting the clean scent clam his nerves.

_She must have washed her hair today._ He thought to himself.

He had almost fallen asleep when a loud roar tore through the village. The house shook to its foundations, and Kagome came awake with a jolt.

"What—?"

"Get dressed." Inuyasha had already jumped out of bed and was pulling on his hakama. He left at a run, still pulling his sleeping yukata out of his pants. Kagome jumped up and began putting on her kimono. Right as she started to pull on the obi Inuyasha returned, now bare-chested and with tied hakama. He hurriedly pulled on his underkimono and kimono shirt.

Inuyasha left at a run again, now fully dressed. Kagome followed him a few seconds later, securing her clothing.

She found Inuyasha securing a dagger to his side.

"We're going to your family's house. Now."

"Why?"

Inuyasha stepped out the door and proceeded at a brisk pace down the road, Kagome scurrying to follow.

"Your father and the orphan are leading an insurrection against the government officials."

Kagome gasped, gripped with fear for the safety of her family. From the road the village inn was easily visible. It was brightly aflame.

"The vassal of the governor of the province was staying there, wasn't he?" she asked.

"And an extensive procession was with him." Inuyasha said grimly. "Troops will come in soon and put down this rebellion. All involved will be killed."

Kagome stopped on the path. "Otou-san…"

Inuyasha looked back and grabbed her arm to pull her along.

"We can't save them all, but we can save the younger ones."

"But, my mother, Kikyo…"

"Are married, and we cannot impose upon the rights of their husbands, even if they are some of the dumbest, most uncaring…" his mutters faded softly, as Kagome struggled to keep up with his hectic pace.

"Ayame was promised to Hiro, so she can go to live with his family." Kagome suggested.

"So that leaves us with two girls, eh?"

"Hai, Mariko and Hana. Both are very young."

Inuyasha led them off the path and into the bushes around the edge of the village. Kagome soon saw why: a group of men was gathering makeshift weapons, and apparently was about to march on Edo.

Kagome took the lead when they got near her old home. She tapped the back door lightly, then jiggled the sliding door off the frame. Kagome passed through the tiny gap that formed, leaving Inuyasha out in the garden in the dark.

Kagome followed the sound of quiet weeping. She found the five remaining members of her family in the kitchen.

She squinted in the dark; the fire had gone out. She found the huddled shapes of her mother and three youngest sisters by the fire pit. Kikyo was kneeling by the door to the kitchen, resolutely calm.

"Okaa." Kagome greeted, giving her mother a hug. The woman looked very wan and worried. "I've come for the children."

Her mother nodded. "To convey them to safety."

"Yes."

"Then Kikyo and I shall remain here."

Kagome frowned. "I wish we could take you."

Her mother gave a bitter smile. "I have known for some time now about this. But I could not fight my husband on this decision. I tried to persuade him not to go, but he didn't listen to me."

"Ayame, Hana, Mariko, come with me." Kagome said softly. The girls were crying in their mother's lap. "Come on, sisters, you can't stay here."

"I don't wanna leave Okaa." Mariko whimpered.

"It's okay, dear." Her mother said soothingly. "Go with Kagome."

The little girl whimpered and then latched on to Kagome's kimono.

"Kagome, we have to hurry," came Inuyasha's agitated whisper. He himself appeared in the doorway, ignoring Kikyo kneeling by his side.

Kagome gathered Mariko up in her arms, pulling on Hana's hand. Ayame followed of her own accord. Inuyasha took Mariko from Kagome and then picked up Hana, allowing Kagome to run to gather some clothing for her sisters.

The two little ones were still sniffling in Inuyasha's arms when Kagome came out with a tied cloth sack.

"We are going now." Inuyasha said abruptly. "See if there are any relatives you can stay with, so you aren't alone in the house."

Her mother nodded, standing now that her children were gone.

"I can take Ayame to the family of Hiro," she said smoothly, "then I'll go to my sister's house."

Kikyo spoke for the first time since they'd arrived. "I will stay here. I refuse to run while my husband is fighting."

Kagome opened her mouth, but Inuyasha placed a firm hand over her lips. "We will be in our hut. If you need shelter, come to us and we can make some arrangements."

Kikyo did not respond, but her mother nodded. The group left Kikyo in the kitchen and went out to jolted back door. Kagome carefully jingled it back into place, while her mother and Ayame vanished into the dark of the woods behind the hut. Inuyasha led them a little ways into the forest, then doubled back on his trail to cross the road where there was unlikely to be any resistance fighters. They walked further into the woods until thy reached the creek, which they followed down the hill to their house.

Both girls had remained blessedly silent as they made the tense trip. But as soon as the shoji closed safely behind them and Inuyasha deposited them in the main room both girls began to sob.

Kagome hurriedly pulled out the spare futon and set it up in their room, herding her crying sisters into it. She was certain that they were both exhausted. Sure enough, Mariko was asleep in a few minutes, and Hana ended up dropping off after crawling into Kagome's lap. The sleeping girl was tucked into the futon.

Inuyasha was still nervously glancing at the window. Some torches had been lit, and it appeared the army, if it could be called that, would be moving out soon. Inuyasha stayed awake until the last of the fires were gone down the road, and they could no longer hear the marching of men and clanking of makeshift weapons.

"It'll take the army in Edo today to crush them." Inuyasha said. "I would expect government officials to arrive by tomorrow at the latest. They will look for family. Someone to make an example of."

Kagome finally let the tears she had been holding back fall.

"I heard of other farmers' uprising," she said. "But it never ends well. It is unfair that the bakufu takes so much from the farmers, but shouldn't there be a better way to protest? Some way that doesn't endanger the people of the village? Or if only we didn't have to worry about some crushing blow being dealt to the home village." She sniffed, and continued. "It doesn't feel right, knowing that I will be cared for while many others in the village starve."

Inuyasha remained silent through her sobbed tirade. He clenched his hands, obviously worried about the turn of events in the village.

Kagome started when she saw the light of false dawn creeping over the horizon.

_They will arrive in Edo soon._ She thought worriedly.

After a while Inuyasha shook her gently. "The girls will need breakfast."

Kagome nodded, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. She stood, pulling her kimono back into place. She sniffed, and then felt a tug on her sleeve. Inuyasha had stood up as well, and was holding her arm.

"I'll protect you," he said, his intense gaze focused on her. "I promise, I will protect you."

Kagome cocked her head, and nodded at him. Something told her that this was very important to him, something of life importance. She smiled, covered his hand with her own. "Thank you."

**The next chapter is coming soon. I've already started it. - Akihana**


	7. Chapter 7

**There is a lemon in this chapter that has been edited out. Also, I'm fairly certain that doesn't allow lemon content on their site. I know that plenty of authors don't follow this rule, but I'd rather not get in trouble. So, type into your internet browser, search that site for the author Akihana, and this story should be there. **

**In response to one interesting review, no, I am not Japanese. I'm very, very Scandinavian. I live in America, but I'm pretty sure none of my ancestors up till me even knew what Japan was. **

**I have a feeling that there aren't that many chapters left. After this there will probably be one or two more chapters, and an epilogue. **

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha, etc. is the property of Viz and Rumiko Takahashi. I am just borrowing them for a bit. **

Rough, insistent banging against the door of the hut made Inuyasha and Kagome jump. Hana jumped up from her mat and ran to the bedroom. Mariko was gently lifted from Inuyasha's lap and pushed in that direction as Inuyasha went to answer the door. He waited until he heard Kagome shut the sliding door firmly to their room.

He opened the genkan to find an official retinue of the shogun standing at his door in an obviously foul mood.

"This is the hut of Inuyasha the carpenter?" the spokesman demanded.

Inuyasha stood firm, squaring his shoulders. "Yes, and I am Inuyasha."

"Your wife is the daughter of the traitor, and condemned. Bring her to us."

"My wife is mine alone. She has had no connection with her family's plans since she came into my hut."

The man looked uncomfortable. "She might be hiding members of her family, or have helped plan the insurrection. We demand to search the hut."

"Do you not trust that I can control the actions of my wife? This is my house, and she is mine. If she has done anything to help this rebellion, I will personally crucify her aside her father."

"You realize that we could implicate you in this?" the leader said from behind the retinue.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Why? The taxes don't bother me. And with my trade I make enough to support my family. There is no reason for me to endanger my life by doing something so stupid."

"Impudence!" the spokesman yelled, moving up with his spear.

"Halt."

"Young lord." Several of the soldiers stammered, immediately prostrating themselves on the ground. Reluctantly Inuyasha bowed as well. Atop a horse was a young man, well dressed in fine silks and with the hairstyle of a lord. He had a young, stern face that commanded respect. His horse was decorated with fancy bridles and saddle, and tossed with restless energy.

"The carpenter, Inuyasha, brother of Sesshomaru?"

"Yes."

"Maker of the wooden sword?"

Inuyasha blinked. "Yes."

The man's face softened, enough to show how young he was. "It is a beautiful, masterfully constructed work. I applaud your skill."

Inuyasha nodded, hiding his embarrassment and glee at the praise. _Sesshomaru didn't tell me it sold so fast, bastard._

"Your wife is the daughter of part of this little rabble?"

Inuyasha bristled. "The old man of that family did what he wanted, without concern for his wife or daughters. He even left them behind undefended when he went on his little march."

The young lord shifted atop the saddle, his horse sidestepping in response to the rider's uneasy guidance.

"We have the wives in custody, do we not?"

"Hai, young lord."

He nodded. "We will take them to Edo to be questioned. Move along."

Inuyasha bit his tongue. He wanted to assure the safety of Kagome's mother and sister, but he remembered a story he had been told as a child. An actor had been applauded with gifts after an amazing performance before a great lord. But when he had presumed to be at the same level as the lord, he was cut down.

_This is a young lord. Maybe he won't be confident enough to cut me down._

_But it would be better not to risk it. If I fall, then they will search the hut and find Kagome and the girls. _

_Ah, hell, am I cowardly enough to falter in the shadow of a little runt?_

"Without the women, there won't be enough people in the village to care for the rice fields, and they will go unused come spring and harvest time."

The soldiers looked irritated, but they glanced at the young lord before attacking. He was frowning, as though the thought only just occurred to him.

"Impudent man!" One soldier yelled, bringing his wooden pole down hard on Inuyasha's shoulder. He grunted, feeling his knees buckling, but he refused to fall. He straightened again, resisting the urge to grab his shoulder to make sure everything was in place.

He looked up in time to see the soldier get walloped by the riding crop of the young lord.

"The women will return within a week, after the governor is pleased with how the insurrection is handled." The lord turned his horse and began trotting down the road, with the retinue hurrying to follow. Inuyasha waited until they were out of sight to collapse against the side of the hut. He groaned and shifted his arm.

"Oh, kami-sama." Kagome whispered as she dropped to her knees next to him. He jumped, startled. He hadn't heard her approach.

"Inside, inside. Take your shirt off. I'll get some ice from the stream, don't move!" She hurried off, and he listened to her shoes clopping down the path. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he heard her reopen the genkan and rush back over to him, wrapping a piece of cloth around a large hunk of ice. She muttered under her breath in worry as she carefully pulled his kimono shirts off. He hissed in pain when the pressure of the ice came to rest against his swollen shoulder.

"Ah, gomen!" Kagome cried, her free hand coming to rest on his unhurt shoulder. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine," he grunted.

"Come lay down; I'll make some pain-killing tea. Breakfast will be ready soon, I'll have Mariko come in and help you…"

"I'm fine, woman. Stop messing with it."

"No, you're not. They hit you, you're lucky to not have had a sword come down on you."

"Kagome, leave it."

"No!" she insisted. "You're hurt and I am going to take care of you."

Inuyasha sighed heavily. "Stubborn wench."

"Yes, and this stubborn wench is going to take care of her baka husband."

Kagome led Inuyasha into the room where Mariko and Hana were hidden. Both girls jumped up and crowded around Inuyasha, tittering worriedly at the injured shoulder. Inuyasha groaned at the female worrying, but gave in and allowed them to push him into bed. Kagome and Hana rushed into the kitchen, leaving Mariko to make sure that he would not move and to hold the ice to his injured shoulder.

Inuyasha grumbled. Kagome he could have intimidated or ignored into letting him get up, and he knew Hana too little to really listen to her. But Mariko's childish "Nooo!" was the force that kept him abed. He was sure that if he did get up she would start crying, and he really didn't want to deal with a young, crying female.

By the end of the day, Inuyasha was feeling slightly better, but his shoulder had swollen to the point that his entire arm was unmovable. He grumbled and groaned, but was secretly pleased by the attention of all three females in his household.

In the afternoon he passed on the information he had gained from the soldiers. Kagome and the girls had been sad to learn of the fate of their mother and sister, but some quiet inquiries made in the locked down village brought back the information that Ayame was safe in her new family's hut. So far no one in the village had been executed.

The news did reach them that those that participated in the march were all cut down, and that all the wives of those men were arrested and marched to Edo. Thankfully most of the children had been hidden, and many were not taken because of their youth. But at least half of the village was gone. The rest remained as quiet as they could in their huts, hoping that bakufu troops did not enter the village to cleanse it completely.

The next morning Inuyasha awoke to a somber looking Kagome.

"They've taken the elders and headman of the village," she said.

By that afternoon Inuyasha was walking around the hut, noting that the smoking ruins of the inn were being cleared away into a bonfire. There were bakufu troops patrolling the village, and otherwise the town was silent.

The scheduled day for repair of one of the ruptured walls of the rice paddies came, and the guards allowed the few residents of the village out to work. Inuyasha, Kagome, and the girls went out as well. Normally Inuyasha had not been involved with farm work, but since so many of the people were missing, and Kagome insisted, they both turned up a little past dawn to help.

The work took some time, since mud had to be carefully mixed from the frozen dirt and water and then applied to the wall. It also had to be built off of the already existing bank of the paddy, because otherwise it would collapse on itself.

Hands almost numb with the cold, Inuyasha realized that it had been a very good idea to heed Kagome's advice and wear his least favorite and most tattered clothing. However, that night Inuyasha realized that there was fun to be had in the general work of repairing the village. Everyone had been working together, sharing jokes and singing in the bitter cold. Some of the other men had talked to Inuyasha about a variety of things, pulling him into the group to make up for the loss of other members.

That night Inuyasha took Kagome and the girls up to a nearby hot spring, which gave them the opportunity to bathe and warm up after being exposed to the wind all day.

After some coaxing Inuyasha joined them, and jumped in surprise when Kagome cuddled into his lap.

That night, after Inuyasha and Kagome were settled into bed, Inuyasha rolled over to discover that Hana and Mariko were both standing before him. With a sigh, he nudged Kagome and made room in the futon. Both girls crawled silently into the space between them and soon fell asleep.

Now Inuyasha lay awake, feeling a cold draft seep in near his feet where the futon had been pulled away by the movements of the other three occupants.

_It's not so bad, really. Maybe, one day, with my own children…_

He turned his eyes on the calmly sleeping faces of the two little girls. He noticed that Mariko had clenched his yukata in her little fist, and smiled softly. Somehow, it was easier to sleep knowing that his little family was safe, and he drifted off.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

As promised, the wives of the rebels returned a week after they were arrested. All of them, except for Kikyo. Kagome's mother appeared at their hut in the afternoon, looking haggard but otherwise unharmed. Kagome welcomed her inside and made her some stew.

While eating she regaled her story to them. Overall they were treated well, given food once a day and not separated. Once it was learned that none of the women had remaining angry sentiments many of them were no longer questioned.

The single exception was Kikyo. Bitter over the death of her husband, she had continued to spout grievances at the government, and was separated from the group. She had not been released with the rest of them.

She stayed the night at their hut, and then moved back to her own with her two daughters the following morning. However, she continued to visit them almost daily. Kagome wasn't sure whether it was by her mother or by her sisters' requests, but she was pleased by the interaction nonetheless.

Kagome did notice that now that the children were out of the hut Inuyasha almost attacked her every night. Their coupling was wild, and they found themselves on the opposite side of the bedroom, or pushing the sheets around in a circle from where they started.

This was the time that Kagome discovered that she could climax in much the same way Inuyasha could. He had already climaxed twice, and since he had been fondling her for over an hour she was so sensitive that his continued touches made something inside her explode. She cried out and her body stiffened, making Inuyasha pause for a second to make sure he hadn't hurt her. Through deep panting breaths, she asked him to do it again, which he complied. When he brought her to a successful second climax they realized that this was something to try for every time they made love.

After several weeks of sex every night for hours Kagome decided to ask Inuyasha if something was different. He grunted in response, which by now she had learned to take as a sign he needed a few days of nagging to get an answer.

Sure enough, after about two days he asked whether her course had come. Startled beyond belief, she shook her head, at which Inuyasha nodded in accomplishment. Later, after she had recovered, she gathered the courage to tell him that her course was irregular and she wasn't even due for another few days. He had seemed disappointed, at which point Kagome figured out what was going on with his renewed libido.

Over dinner she chattered excitedly.

"I thought you didn't want children, Inuyasha."

He grunted. She frowned.

"This isn't something you're doing to annoy your brother, is it?"

He growled. "No!"

"Why, then?"

Inuyasha turned his head away, grumbling under his breath about stubborn and inquisitive women.

"Fine, then." Kagome shot back. _He misses the children. That is probably why he holds me really tightly at night now._

She smiled wistfully, making Inuyasha study her curiously from across the fire pit.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she said, a smile on her bright face. He blushed bright red at that, and poked at his food. Thus he was not paying attention to her, and was left undefended to her attack. Inuyasha grunted and fell back when Kagome tumbled into his chest. He lay on his back with Kagome perched on his hips. He reached up and pulled her down onto his chest, and rolled forcefully, pinning her underneath him.

LEMON DELETED

Kagome rubbed her cheek against him sleepily. He looked down on her in time to see her sleepy smile in his direction, and to see her eyes slide closed, her lashes brushing her soft cheek. She shifted underneath him, which prompted him to move his undoubtedly crushing weight off of her chest. He groaned when he pulled out of her, but she just stirred, and then went back to sleep.

Inuyasha stroked her cheek soothingly, and cuddled next to her.

_She's safe._ He thought to himself.

**Hopefully the next chapter will be up by Friday. I hope to finish this story before I go back to school, because updates will slow to a crawl when I have homework and such. - Akihana**


	8. Chapter 8

Inuyasha sighed as he stroked his wife's slightly distended belly. She had been crying tears of happiness when she told him that she had missed two courses. The sickness that followed soon after only confirmed their assumptions.

_What idiot called it morning sickness?_ Inuyasha grumbled to himself. _More like, night, morning, and sometimes even afternoon sickness. Oh, and whenever she smells fish sickness. And that one time a hunter brought in a dead deer and gutted it just upwind sickness. _

Kagome was always very apologetic afterwards, but he still couldn't wear one of his favorite sets of pants. She was soaking it in lye, hoping to get the last of the stench out of it.

Kagome's mother had explained everything to expect to Kagome, who passed the information on to Inuyasha. Thus he was not worried when she threw up one morning. But when it didn't stop after a month, he did worry. Kagome said it was normal, but now it was doubly hard to make sure she had enough food, because he often had to feed her twice, if not more times, to get one meal down. And she was eating for two.

However, it all seemed worth it when, on the few nights that she didn't throw up or was unable to sleep for cause of the back pain, he was able to wrap his arms around her and feel the growing life on her front.

_Mine. My child. _

Kagome whimpered and shifted in her sleep, and he carefully shifted her so that she wasn't all scrunched up. He lay down right behind her, his arms wrapped around her belly, one below and one above. Her soft breathing tickled the hairs of his arm, and every time she breathed her belly pressed into his hand.

_This woman…_ Inuyasha nuzzled her hair. _It was a very good idea to take a wife._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"No news?"

"None at all."

"Wouldn't they have said something if they had executed her?"

"Maybe they will demand she follow her husband to the afterlife."

"What information can they really get out of her? The rebellion she was involved in was crushed. She is of no further use."

"Why would they do this to a woman?"

"The bakufu is probably just being sure. They won't want to have to deal with another uprising."

"Still, Kikyo has no power to do anything. Her father and husband are dead and disgraced, and her village has been chastised."

Kagome sat by the village well, listening to the wives' talk about the news. It had been some months since Kikyo's arrest, and yet there was no word on her condition.

"What if she is pregnant, and they are waiting for the child to be born?"

"What would they do? Take it away? Would they punish the child for the sins of its parents?"

Kagome shuddered and lay a hand to her own stomach. It was soothingly warm, reassuring her.

"I'd say that she is just being difficult to the government officials, so they are detaining her for as long as they can to inconvenience her."

Kagome sighed. Inuyasha was in Edo, having finally found an excuse to leave her behind. Her pregnancy aside, it was also wonderfully timed that the one time she was interested in searching for information in Edo, about the condition of her sister, there was finally a legitimate reason not to go. Inuyasha had promised that he would see what he could find concerning the matter, but she knew that it was hard to get information about Edo's prisons. Still she would stay awake and wait for him as long as it took for him to return home, with or without the news she desired.

In the meantime, she was doing everything she could to make the day pass quickly. An extensive cleaning of the already sparkling house had only taken her to midday. She set about making a fancy dinner for his return, but even that did little to distract her. So she joined her mother and the other wives at the well.

Kagome's mother's hands shook, and Kagome steadied the pot of water before her mother's trembling could knock it over.

"Should we go?" Kagome asked quietly. "I'll help you prepare dinner."

Her mother nodded tersely.

The hut seemed so empty, as it was missing over half of its occupants. When Kagome had lived there it had felt cramped, but now it seemed dreary and abandoned with only a woman and two young girls.

Her mother caught her furtive glances at the empty hut and pursed her lips.

"It is very quiet," she remarked. "And I make less food now, especially since some of the biggest eaters are gone."

"You wouldn't remarry, would you?"

Her mother shook her head. "I am far too old. Besides, we have far too few men for all the unmarried girls, let alone old widows."

After several minutes of silence, her mother spoke up again. "My mother and father are considering coming to live with me. My sister's family already cares for her husband's parents, and two sets of old people is really too much for one house. I would have plenty of time to care for them."

Kagome nodded. She had only met her grandparents once, but it would be good for her mother to have other adults in the hut, to ease her loneliness.

With good news, they were slowly able to broach happier topics. Kagome reheard many embarrassing childhood stories, and laughed along with her mother for happiness that everything seemed to be alright with her.

Much to her pleasure, it seemed like no time at all until the shadows grew long and her mother lit lamps to light the hut in the growing dusk. She bid a short farewell, eager to return to her home to await her husband.

She heard banging and clattering at the hut as she walked up the path, so she ran quickly up the hill. The lamp she had left lit in case she stayed out late burned low, but Inuyasha used its feeble light to help him out the cart away.

"Inuyasha!" He turned, and opened his arms to catch her as she barreled into him.

"Atchaa, remind me never to leave again if you get this hysterical every time I go," he gruffed to himself, stroking her hair.

Kagome beamed at him. "Let me get dinner heated." She ran into the hut, reappearing to light a lamp from the dying light outside.

Dinner was a hurried affair, as Kagome was obviously trying to portray some semblance of patience, but was only picking at her food. Inuyasha was eating ravenously, and occasionally noting between mouthfuls that she had not eaten. She would begin to eat after he said this, but soon dropped off.

"Fine," he grunted finally, "will you eat if I give you my news?"

Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "Is she okay?" she blurted.

Inuyasha nodded. "She is still alive, and not missing any limbs. I couldn't tell you why they are still holding her. There are rumors flying around that she is pregnant, and that the officials don't know what to do with her. While I don't put much stock in rumors, this rumor is rampant and just about everyone has the same story. Besides, it would explain why she is still being held. It is the only story that holds water."

Kagome released an unsteady breath. Her nervousness showed in her shaking hands. Inuyasha glanced at her, perturbed. "You promised you'd eat!"

"Hai, hai," she replied absently, unable to keep up the farce that she interested in the rice.

Inuyasha sighed heavily, tapping his fingernails in an annoyed manner on the wood floor.

"You should eat," he grumbled. "I know it's not great news, but that's no reason to starve yourself."

"She could not have food! I doubt the Edo officials care that she is with child. And they give the prisoners food with mold on it…"

Inuyasha cut her off. "But if you decide to be a martyr for her we'll have two casualties instead of one. No, we will have four casualties! Don't risk all that. I doubt she's thinking about you anyway. It would have been better for that woman to have acknowledged that her man was a bit daft to do something so stupid and leave his woman alone."

Kagome fumed. "I empathize because she is my sister! I cannot be comfortable and uncaring while she is all alone, without the proper care."

"Respect her sacrifice and learn from her life by taking care of yourself and never making such a stupid decision. Now eat, stubborn woman!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Inuyasha almost jumped over the table, his eyes shooting swords. "Eat the damn food already!"

"I won't eat while she is starving!"

Inuyasha threw his arms up in the air, turning his back on her.

"How can you not care about your health?" he asked furiously.

"Because I care about hers!" Kagome yelled back.

Inuyasha broke down, slamming himself into a cross-legged stance and looking firmly away from her.

"Onegai," he said, fists clenched, "I will worry about you if you don't eat anything. Please don't endanger our child."

Kagome started. Her anger, which had grown so triumphant with his acquiescence, deflated. Inuyasha begging was a sight she was not used to seeing.

"All right," she agreed. "I'll eat a little."

Inuyasha waited until she had eaten about half her food before speaking again.

"If you were in jail, would you want your sisters to starve themselves and kill their babies because that is what you are going through?"

Kagome set down her chopsticks, eyes wide. She lowered her gaze, shame filling her features.

"No," she whispered, "I would want them to make the best of their lives."

Inuyasha released a relieved sigh and hugged her around the shoulders. "So do that, Koishii, live well for her."

Kagome hiccupped into his kimono, and then began to cry. Inuyasha panicked, patting her hair and trying to rub her back to placate her.

"I didn't mean to upset you! I take back whatever it was. Get a hold of yourself!" he rattled frantically.

"Hai," she said, sniffling. Inuyasha sighed again, holding her tight.

"It'll be alright," he soothed. She nodded. "I'll just hope," she responded.

Inuyasha hugged her warmly, and she closed her eyes to relax in his embrace.

**Alright, this is a little short for a last chapter, but I felt guilty being two weeks late…or however long it took me. School has started, in case that wasn't evident. There will be an epilogue coming shortly. **

**I've decided to use my Spanish abilities for something and am translating this fiction into Spanish. Since I am not a fluent speaker, I would like to have someone who knows what they are doing look over the conjugations and other grammary stuff. My email is and I would love any help I could get. - Akihana**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. That honor goes to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz.**

Kagome sat at the entrance to her home, watching her youngest sister, Mariko, play with her two children. Takeo was almost three years old, and very proud of his age, especially when compared with his younger brother, Kai, who was still mastering crawling. They were playing tag. At least, Kagome supposed that they were playing tag. Mostly either Mariko or Takeo chased the other, Mariko laughing heartily when Kai tried to keep up.

"Hey."

Kagome smiled up at her husband, who had come from his workshop to sneak up behind her and wrap his arm around her shoulders.

Together they watched the children tumble through piles of red and gold leaves, which Inuyasha and Takeo had gathered only a day before.

"There they go, ruining the piles." Inuyasha grumbled. "Takeo, you're gonna pile those up again tomorrow!"

Takeo turned to his father and moaned, saying something about how it wasn't his fault. Inuyasha ignored him.

Kagome pulled her kimono closer around her as the chill caught up to her, and she rose to get Kai off the ground. The child squealed as his mother cuddled him to her chest, and he nuzzled at her breasts.

"Hungry, baby?" she queried softly, fiddling with her kimono as she carried him inside. Inuyasha met her at the door and kissed her softly.

"He's hungry?"

Kagome nodded, stroking the baby's head when he nuzzled harder at her chest. Inuyasha smiled, and gave her a final kiss before pushing her gently into the house.

The fading light was just enough to give the room a cozy feel. Kagome settled next to the pot, where a wonderful smell emanated with cooking smoke. Kai latched onto the breast as soon as it was available, suckling hungrily. Kagome rocked him slightly, rubbing his little back and bottom. Takeo ran inside, grumbling at the sight of Kai taking up space.

"Okaa, I want to sit with you." He whined.

Kagome made room as best she could, letting Takeo lean up against her side. Kai fussed and kicked one of his little legs out at his brother, clutching to Kagome's kimono with his tiny fists.

"Hush, Kai." She soothed, bouncing him. Her free hand came over to rest on Takeo's shoulder, preventing any retaliation on the elder's part. A few minutes later Inuyasha came back inside from seeing Mariko off to the main village.

"You boys weren't giving your mother trouble, were you?" he queried, mostly to Takeo. The boy harrumphed, which prompted Inuyasha to pick him up and toss him in the air, which never failed to get a smile out of the child.

"Otou!" he cried, flailing his arms at a particularly high toss, the attempted sternness in the tone failing when he giggled.

Kagome cracked a smile watching them, her husband and her oldest son. They brought such joy to her life, one that she thought would never be possible, especially when considering the fates of most in the village.

Because most of the male population of the village had been killed off, it was left up the women and the old and young ones to get the rice cultivated so that there was enough to eat. Everyone worked twice as hard and the yield was still a little less than normal. Their good luck was in that most of the heavy eaters were gone, so less than a normal harvest was plenty to feed all the inhabitants and there was still more to pay the taxes and to sell in the city. A couple layabout second and third sons had come from other villages to marry and have homes and land of their own. Overall, three years from the incident the village was prospering, as much as a place under the shogunate eye could.

The only damper on the spirit was the news of Kikyo. In the end some of the rumors had been proven right, as it turned out that she was pregnant. However, for reasons not released to the public but released to Sesshomaru's inquiries, Kikyo died six months into her pregnancy. The bakufu never publicly acknowledged why it held her as long as it did, though Sesshomaru did tell Inuyasha that she died of cholera, and not by shogunate orders. Her body was cremated in the jail and the ashes brought to the village, where they were buried behind the family's house.

Kagome's grandparents did indeed come to live with her mother, and the house was not as lonely as it had been, which was a comfort to Kagome. With two growing girls and the two old ones it seemed a little more like the place she had grown up in, though it would never be the same without the people it had lost.

Kagome was startled out of her musing when Kai released the empty breast and tried to turn himself around to reach the other. She turned him over and gave him the other breast. Pacified, he went quiet as sucking sounds and grunts filled the air. Inuyasha and Takeo were still playing, this time tackle the little boy. It wasn't going very well for Inuyasha, as he was on his back with Takeo trying to hold his arm down.

She laughed at their antics, pleased with how well they got along. Her father hadn't cared to be involved with his girls' playing, and while that might have been because he longed for sons, she had a feeling that Inuyasha just liked children. She fondly remembered how he had soothed Mariko and Hana when they lived with them.

_And he thought that he would be a bad father._

She still remembered that little argument, less than a day after she'd given birth to Takeo. Inuyasha had been so frightened by the labor. She could hear him pacing and swearing in the other room, growing increasingly panicked. Then, when the baby had finally come, he had shied away from touching the infant, touching him like glass that would break with the slightest rough handling. He had insisted that he couldn't touch something so wonderful, and Kagome had promptly used a tactic she usually didn't. She started to cry, and Inuyasha appeased her by taking the baby and cuddling the sleeping infant. The look of wonder that filled his face made it all worth the effort to get him into the room in the first place.

That night he had presented her with a gift. She had forgotten about the beautiful little box in the workshop so many months ago, but she remembered immediately when he shyly set it down next to her as she nursed. His cheeks had been pink, and his eyes averted. She laughed remembering it, because his distraction made it easy for her to sneak up on him and plant a kiss on his lips.

Inside were several sweet-smelling soaps, enough to make her want to glomp him if her baby hadn't been attached to her breast. She had never had soap during her childhood, as her father chose to spend money on other things.

Kai released her breast and put him up on her shoulder to burp him, moving more out of habit. When he was done he sighed and settled down to nap in her arms. She gently placed him in a blanket and removed the lid from her stew.

"Inuyasha, Takeo, come eat dinner."

"Hai!"

Both skidded to a halt next to her and grabbed their bowls, holding them out as she ladled food into them.

Inuyasha's eyes rested heatedly on her, and she blushed. He leaned in to her ear to whisper. "Tonight, love." She blushed further, shivering at his gentle nibble to her earlobe. "Aishiteru."

"Aishiteru, Inuyasha."

"Ewwww!" Takeo cried, looking up from his stew to see them nuzzling.

"Oi." Inuyasha grumbled, turning to ruffle his son's hair.

Kagome giggled. Her family certainly wore her out, but she wouldn't trade them for the world.

**Alright, the epilogue is done. Finally. Only took me three months. Actually, it took me three months to start, because I basically wrote it in one shot today. I think this wraps it up much better than the last chapter did, because I left some loose ends. Anyways, have a wonderful spring break and a happy spring! - Akihana**


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